The story of Inman's adventures is intertwined with the story of Ada. Ada is left alone to manage Black Cove Farm after her father's death. She is desperate and has no idea where she belongs or how she is supposed to earn a living. When visiting the Swangers, her neighbors, Ada looks into a well to predict her future. He sees a man walking in the woods on a journey but does not know what this vision means. The next day, Sally Swanger sends a local girl named Ruby to help out on the farm. Ruby and Ada become friends and establish a comfortable home routine. Meanwhile, Inman's journey west is filled with danger and violence. He is chased across the Cape Fear River, saving his life thanks to the skill of a girl rowing a pirogue. Inman intervenes when he finds a debauched preacher, Solomon Veasey, attempting to kill his (the preacher's) pregnant mistress. The preacher is exiled from his community and Inman is forced to continue part of his journey with Veasey. Inman has to intervene again when Veasey causes trouble at a store and an inn. While Veasey spends the night with a prostitute named Big Tildy, the traveling salesman Odell tells Inman a sad story about the landowners' cruelty towards slaves. The next day, Inman and Veasey help a man remove a dead bull from his stream. This man, Junior, invites them to his house to spend the night and many strange things happen. Inman is drugged and forced to marry Junior's wife, who the author suggests may be a cannibal. Junior then turns Inman and Veasey over to the Home Guard, the military force that was looking for Inman. Inman is forced to walk east, retracing his steps. The guards decide to shoot the men and bury them in a shallow grave. Although Inman escapes with a minor head wound, Veasey dies. Ada's story resumes. The novel follows his adaptation to a life of working in harmony with nature. Ada's friendship with Ruby blossoms as she begins to identify with the natural world. The female protagonist takes root on the farm and recalls memories of Inman and her father. From time to time, she finds herself touched by events surrounding the war. A group of pilgrims forced into exile by federal soldiers seeks refuge for a day on the farm. Ada remembers Blount, a soldier she met at a party in Charleston who later died in battle.