At a hunt club dinner dance, Dexter has a conversation with his father-in-law, Arthur Berringer. Dexter confesses that he seeks a change and wants to move wholly into legal enterprises and away from Mr. Q. He tells Arthur that he is already beginning some legal ventures and that he can bring them to Arthur, who can eventually buy them out. Arthur tells Dexter that “no bank in New York would have you” (322), and he advises Dexter that wartime, when world orders shift, is “no time for bold moves” (323).

Dexter feels uncomfortable with Harriet since he spent the night with Anna. As he comforts Tabatha, who is heartbroken over Grady’s going to war, he resolves to take action.

Despite her triumphant dive, Lieutenant Axel still treats Anna as a second-class employee. He makes her a rigger, responsible for surfacing sunk objects. She senses that “she and Dexter Styles [a]ren’t finished yet” and pines for him (333), both because of the information he might have on her father and because she wants to sleep with him again.

When she spots Dexter’s Cadillac, the two are filled with desire, and she challenges Dexter with the notion that her father is dead.