Eliot and Margo watch as an unconscious Quentin undergoes his fifth surgery. When they return to the castle, they learn the wellspring is too damaged to save magic, and the kingdom wants to rebel. Margo warns Eliot he needs to get serious about being a ruler because they're the grownups now. He doesn't think he belongs in Fillory. Margo has an idea to help, but first, she needs to leave Fillory.

Julia finds Kady passed out in a drug den and tells her she needs her help.

Dean Fogg and Professor Lipson are both having trouble with their magic.

As Margo's searching, Penny returns. He's been stuck in worlds without oxygen. Margo tells him they killed the Beast, but Quentin's hurt, and Alice died. Margo returns to Fillory and tells Eliot her plan is to create another him out of magic clay.

Kady feels guilty for not helping Julia, who tells her she can make it up to her now. She shows her Marina's frozen body. There's a number scratched into her skin. Kady recognizes it as a locator number for a book at Brakebills. 

Quentin wakes up and the nurse explains it's been three weeks. He finds the box of Alice's things Eliot and Margo left for him. Penny arrives and tries to be nice, but Quentin's emotional and the two end up fighting. Penny learns from the centaur doctor that the man who cursed him is called the River Watcher. The centaur won't help him because he's afraid of the River Watcher. 

Margo and Eliot admire the Eliot Gollum. She wants him to transfer his mind into the Gollum's, and attempt to go back to Brakebills. 

Julia and Kady use a BFF necklace to link them so Julia can go to Brakebills and get the book. Julia heads to the physical kids' house to read the book. Margo and Eliot Gollum are there. Eliot's upset because Todd's taken over as party king. Margo knows it's not just about Todd.

Quentin catches a glimpse of the White Lady while the nurse dresses his wound. Penny wakes up trying to strangle himself. He breaks both his arms and then asks Quentin to find an ax. Penny gets drunk and Quentin chops off his hands with an ax while they both scream. 

As Eliot hooks up with Javier, a fellow partygoer, his mind flashes back and forth between Brakebills, and his bedroom in Fillory where he's also having sex with Fen.

Quentin practices archery. Penny's annoyed that he can hear Q's thoughts, but he takes the time to help him with a spell. Quentin tells him he wants to find the White Lady. If they catch her, she has to grant their requests. He says Penny can ask for his hands, and Q plans to ask her to bring Alice back to life.

In their quest to find the White Lady, Quentin and Penny must pass through the Flying Forest. Just being there gives them both a contact high. They stumble in the wrong direction until Quentin manages to get them out of the forest. He breaks down over Alice, but Penny reminds him that Alice needs him. Penny admits he needs him, too.

Eliot fills Dean Fogg in on the situation in Fillory. The dean tells him he needs to stop splitting himself in half. He offers to help him with his kingdom by bringing in the best minds. Dean Fogg names his thesis project, "How to Save an Entire Goddamned World."

Margo finds Julia with the book. The two argue over who's at fault for their current situation. Margo makes things easier on Julia by showing her how to create a copy of the book. Back in Fillory, Margo tells Eliot she wants to build the statute to Alice because they owe it to her for not being her friends.

Julia and Kady put the pieces of the spell together. It's a necromancy spell. It brings Marina back to life just long enough for her to tell them that 40 years ago, a girl sent Reynard to another Earth. That's where he was trapped until Julia brought him back.

Quentin and Eliot capture the White Lady. But she can't grant Quentin's wish to bring Alice back. She fixes Penny's hands and asks Quentin what else he wants. He says he has everything he wanted, but magic can't fix what he needs. He asks her to send him home. She does. Back in NYC, he tosses his bow and arrow in a trash can.