Norman tells Phoenix she lost her mother and everything in a house fire, which she vaguely remembers but 11yr old Phoenix is beginning to realise this doesn't add up and is asking him probing questions and looking for greater freedom.
On one of her rare visits to town a group of "bad men" spot Phoenix and follow her ride back home. Later that night they break into the house with bad intentions.
Knowing this can't continue as the link will be made they plan a "big score" against a blind Army Veteran (Stephen Lang) who Money has been told has a lot of cash hidden at home.
No good will come of this...
CW: sexual assault/rape and implied very nasty stuff but almost nothing is actually seen onscreen
On arrival she secures passage up the river with steamboat skipper Frank (Dwayne Johnson) but they have German Imperial aristocrat Prince Joachim (Jesse Plemmons) hot on their heels who wants the Tree's secrets for himself.
Lionel's an awkward autistic man with a side order of Tourettes.
Frank relies on Lionel's perfect recall as a kind of human surveillance system. When Frank's latest case gets violent and he ends up gunned down Lionel starts to pick at the thread and find out what's going on despite the misgivings of the rest of the team.
As those under his command defend the airbase against those sent to make him issue the recall order a seconded British officer attempts to win him back around. Meanwhile America's 'Top Brass' assemble in the Pentagon War Room to discuss what can be done.
When the Cold War turns to open Nuclear War suddenly none of that matters at fucking all.
Stumbling around in a state of denial she parties with her best friend Lanna (Kathleen McDermott) while leaving his body sprawled in the flat they shared.
Eventually she has to face what to do with both the body and the book.
When a release by an enigmatic director contains material shockingly close to a traumatic incident from her childhood she starts to look into his other work and tries to track him down.