Mother Abagail selects a surprising voice to be her conduit to her chosen Committee in Boulder: the young deaf man Nick Andros. The arrival of a disturbing visitor to the Boulder Free Zone, shakes the Committee and Boulder residents to their core. Elsewhere in the Free Zone, Nadine Cross is haunted by a childhood memory.

The Boulder Free Zone Committee looks to solidify their leadership and bolster the community with a town hall meeting, but Flagg continues to make inroads as he plots to destroy the newly-forming society from within.