In the novel's climax, Ophelia phones Col. Harville during a raging storm, promising to deliver the jade Tara that has driven him mad for decades. As lightning cracks, she contemplates the strange mathematics of captivity and love: "Another hostage would be taken. Another innocence would be lost." Yet her heart feels light at the prospect—for "captivity was the purest, rarest, and possibly most dear form of intimacy."

At her grandmother's grave in Righteous City, Ophelia trembles with unwanted visions and fears another fugue state. She questions whether Stanton's "seduction" of her with the treasure hunt reveals love or manipulation—and whether she even cares anymore.

Inside the Cave of Whispers, Ophelia offers to return the jade mandala carvings to whoever wants them—but insists the Tara statue belongs to Stanton's father. Two young LDS missionaries interrupt, revealing that the Yahweh Brethren likely have no connection to the smuggled artifacts. Back at the motel, Stanton reveals he has found Tara.

Col. Harville travels to Cabo San Lucas, following cryptic instructions to "pass under the arches." After a midnight boat trip through crashing surf, he hears the voice of God commanding him to return to the Oasis and wait. Tara's light flickers and dies in his mind's eye; he is now completely God's Hostage.

Driving through Nevada with her father, Ophelia confesses that her work in South America put her life at risk. She was mistaken for a spy, beaten, and nearly killed. She pledges to return to treasure hunting and exploration—and perhaps to reconnect with Stanton.

Col. Harville reads about Jean Tinguely's self-destructing sculpture in the Nevada desert while contemplating his own breakdown. At his farm near Righteous City, wild roses and bamboo music cannot mask the kinetic destruction he carries within.

Returning to her father's oil and gas business, Ophelia carries lucky amulets to a high-risk wildcat well in rural Oklahoma. The chapter interweaves petroleum geology, environmental concerns, and memories of Stanton as the drill finally hits a promising zone—offering hope of financial and emotional recovery.black gold

Ophelia and her father explore the Blue Cave in Arizona but find no Pink Lady treasure—only fur collars that initially appear to be scalps, and a cache of Victorian postcards depicting Marrakesh. The dreamlike images suggest displacement and longing for impossible elsewheres.