In Scotland, 18th century: Jamie has been hiding in the woods near Lallybroch for seven years. Jenny is about to give birth to another child, and is more than a little worried about Jamie's prospects. His physical seclusion only intensifies his mental isolation. She chides him for not moving on from Claire, which he doesn't take well. Meanwhile, Rabbie, Fergus, and Wee Jamie find a pistol in the dovecote, and Fergus longs to take action against the redcoats who harass the Murrays and have taken Ian prisoner yet again. Jamie's admonishment to stay away from weapons and to keep his head down with the redcoats does not go over well. When Fergus notices an officer following him through the woods in an attempt to find Jamie, he cannot resist taunting the soldiers. The Scottish turncoat officer is enraged and slices Fergus' hand off while Jamie watches helplessly. Fergus' disfigurement in conjugtion with a close call when Jamie visited the house after Wee Ian's birth lead Jamie to decide to turn himself in. Jenny objects, but eventually goes along with the plan even as she curses her brother for forcing her to betray him. The housemaid, Mary, brings his last supper up to his cave, and after cleaning up Jamie, offers herself to him. He's outraged at first, assuming that she is doing so at his sister's behest, but eventual gives in and sleeps with her. 

In Boston, 1948/49: Claire starts to feel frisky again after recovering from Bree's birth, but fantasies and hallucinations of Jamie just aren't going to cut it for the rest of her life. Watching Frank with Bree makes her want to want him, but she just can't stop thinking about Jamie....and Frank knows it. After a disastrous seduction attempt after playing happy family for the neighbors, Frank calls her out on her feelings (or lack thereof) for him. While their marriage is on shaky ground, Claire enrolls in medical school at Harvard and meets Joe Abernathy, a black student. Her decision to pursue medicine pushes Frank even further away and they end up sleeping in twin beds.