Layton wakes up with a bad headache in the engine bunk car. There is no one around. When he leaves the engine to look for people, he notices the Wilford logo has changed to a stylized skull.

Suddenly, he is black bagged by two men. They drag him into a room and are about to jab him with a syringe when Wilford in a white suit and panama hat bursts in with gunmen to rescue Layton.

One of the gunmen is Javi. The other is Ruth. Javi finds his hula girl on Layton. Apparently, that’s what he was sent into the engine to get. The other three appear to have a plan Layton should know about. They head out, leaving him confused. Looking out the window, he sees green.

Stepping into the hall, he sees a uniformed and pig-tailed Winnie walking by. He follows. In the library car which is filled with tropical plants, he finds Till. She tells him he’s dying.

Camera focuses on Layton’s body lying on the ground under the table with Pike’s wrapped corpse.

Josie goes to get Layton from his vigil. She and Z-Wreck find him on the ground. Josie sends Z-Wreck for Dr. Peloton.

In his head, Layton tries to wake himself. Till explains that he’s on a version of Snowpiercer and he needs to be careful.

When he tells her he needs to get home, she changes tactics. She says he’ll need to see the Tail Boss. He tells her about Wilford and the need for papers to cross the border. She says she can help with that.

In real life, Dr. Peloton works on Layton while Josie, Till, and Zarah wait outside.

In his head, Till directs Layton to the Forger. Before leaving him, she cuts his palm with a knife, telling him to avoid getting lost.

The Forger is Ben. He gives Layton papers to cross the border but tells him if he wants to get into the Tail, he’ll need to see the Cartographer in the Market.

Ben wants to know who killed the guys who black-bagged Layton. Layton refuses to rat out Javi and Ruth. When he walks away, Ruth emerges from hiding, where she was listening. Ruth says it was a test but she still doesn’t trust him.

In the real world, Dr. Pelton reports that he’s in a coma but stable. She says they just have to wait. Till leaves. Josie prepares to leave with Ben but Zarah, holding Liana, encourages her to stay.

Layton rejoins Javi and Wilford. They cross the border individually. Layton’s cover is that he’s a dancer.

Z-Wreck and LJ are the guards at the border. Layton passes.

On the train, Till finds a closet where she breaks down in tears. Audrey is sitting nearby, reading a book. She offers to leave her to cry alone if she wants. As she leaves, she recommends Till talk to Layton to help bring him out of the coma. Till wants Audrey to do it like she used to in the Night Car.

In Layton’s head, Wilford leads his group to the Night Car where Dr. Headwood is in charge. Sykes is at the bar. Javi and her flirt a bit. Wilford and Headwood dance together. Sykes serves up shots of rum then hands them a bag of weapons. Layton excuses himself. Ruth sends Sykes to follow him. Layton heads to the market to find the Cartographer, trying to lose Sykes.

Zarah is the Cartographer. She doesn’t know him.

He tells her he wants to go to The Tail. She shows him her map of the train. It’s formed like a figure eight or infinity symbol.

To get into the Tail, he’ll need “The Word” and Zarah gives him a riddle: “Most will run but some will seek. Hide or cheat, we'll always meet. My present, past, and future keep.”

Suddenly Javi and Sykes drag him out. Ruth shows up and holds a gun on him. Wilford shows up too. He says he only needs Layton for the meeting and what he doesn’t know might hurt him.

They head to the meeting. In the mess car, Roche directs the bouncer, Alex, to bring Layton in. He offers him some seafood and indicates that Wilford can join his table. Javi sits with Alex. Layton tries to mediate the meeting, not knowing what it’s about. Wilford produces the hula girl. Alex brings out a case and hands it to Roche. Winnie’s doll is inside. The deal is done.

Suddenly LJ leads some guards into the car. A gun fight breaks out. Everyone dies except Layton and LJ. Layton is locked into a cell. LJ informs him he’ll be executed at midnight by firing squad.

Pike shows up, dressed as a chaplain. Layton defends his actions.

In the clinic, Till brings Audrey to Layton. Zarah is skeptical but takes Josie away for a break. Audrey tries to reach the comatose Layton. In his head, her voice comes through, and then he can see her unlocking the cell.

Layton makes his way to the Tail. He finds Wilford bleeding out. He gives him Winnie’s doll to Layton as a gift to the Tail Boss.

In the real world, Wilford is in the library, coming to a realization. Alex comes to see him. He called her there.

Zarah and Josie talk about the Tail Days. Zarah tells Josie that she and Layton were a good team. She admits Josie and Layton are a better couple than she and Layton ever were.

In his head, Layton finds the Tail. Josie is the guard. “The Word” is the riddle’s answer: Death. She brings him to the Tail Boss who sits, surrounded by bones and skulls. She exchanges Winnie’s doll for an envelope with Zarah’s handwriting. The Tail Boss asks him to read it to her. It is her letter to Liana, Zarah’s voiceover from “A New Life.” Layton realizes the Tail Boss is his daughter.

He protests that her future isn’t on the train. He’ll break the cycle. She hands him back Winnie’s doll. Inside it is Pike’s bomb. She explains that he’s here to face her death. The bomb explodes. Layton wakes up.

Asha’s standing over him. They are back in the nuclear facility he found her in.

The wound on his hand opens again. He reaches for a locker but Asha stops him.

She serves him a meal, tomato soup and a grilled cheese. He insists on opening the locker. Asha tells him he’s not going to like it. They hear a noise. Marauders. He and Asha leap to action. A marauder comes down through the hole in the ceiling, chases Layton into hiding. Layton ambushes the marauder and shoots him, creating the blood splatter on the wall he’d seen when he first met Asha.

He goes searching for Asha and encounters another marauder. They fight until Asha leaps in and takes out the marauder. Layton experiences his vision of the dragon’s blood tree again. He opens the locker and discovers the image he saw was a calendar that was in the locker. He would’ve seen it as he started to lose consciousness.

Layton wakes up in real life.

Till goes to Audrey to tell her Layton is going to be ok.

Josie comes to Layton’s side. Layton admits that he made up the vision. He doesn’t feel like he can lead the train with a lie.

In the library, Wilford has recreated the train routes he took to try to intercept the pirate train. He tries to get Alex to tell him what routes the pirate train took. He tells her he saw a track switch signal in France about three months into the pursuit. Alex says they were nowhere near France. He believes it was Melanie.