Content Warning: This section of the novel contains descriptions of violence and murder.

The narrative shifts to Amy’s perspective, well before Holland’s disappearance. When Amy and Billy get married, they have difficulty getting pregnant. After a few months, they visit a doctor and discover that Billy is infertile. Amy has a flashback to when she was a child and recalls that one day, she pushed her little brother Matthew off the loft in the barn. Amy thought that she killed Matthew, but he survived and walked with a limp for the rest of his life. Amy always knew that God would make her pay for hurting Matthew, and she now believes that Billy’s infertility is God’s punishment. Amy believes that she and Billy can be happy without children, but Billy’s infertility causes them to grow apart. Her sister suggests that she visit the Widow Glendower, who may be able to help her. However, Amy’s mother tells her not to go to the Widow because it goes against God’s will.

Billy overhears Amy talking to her mother about his infertility and gets angry at her. Before long, everyone in Jocassee is gossiping about it.