Part 2, Chapter 15 Summary

A return to Japan sees the end of Brian Talbot's tenure there. Talbot contemplates his return and the changed perceptions of himself and those around him. Aldred, who has been in Nagasaki, returns to find Helen waiting and distraught. Helen had been sent on a false errand while her brother was removed to a hospital in Tokyo. From Tokyo, Benedict would be transferred to a specialized care facility in the United States. Helen is aware that Benedict's situation is dire and that he will not recover; she knows that she has seen her brother for the last time.

Helen also tells Aldred that her parents have announced their intentions to immediately remove themselves to New Zealand. Aldred hails Talbot and leaves immediately for Tokyo.

While at the hospital in Tokyo and awaiting word of Benedict, Aldred learns of his own father's...