The passengers of the Exodus disperse to various locations in Palestine. Most of the children are brought to Youth Aliyah centers, and Ari tells Kitty that he thinks she should go to work for the organization.

Ari and Kitty have dinner at a restaurant near Haifa, and Kitty is struck by the “normal” interruptions of life in Palestine—a checkpoint-style interrogation of restaurant patrons by the British army and the explosion of a nearby oil refinery from a Maccabee raid. Ari drives Kitty to Tel Aviv, where she witnesses the variety and vitality of Jewish life in Palestine, and then Ari goes to Haganah headquarters. While talking with Avidan, they remark on the stark challenges ahead of them, facing a major section of the British army.

Dov and Karen get situated in their new home, a Youth Aliyah kibbutz in northern Palestine. Karen loves it, but Dov appears sullen and skeptical. Meanwhile, Ari brings Kitty to Jerusalem, where she meets Harriet Saltzman, an elderly American Jew who is the driving force behind the Youth Aliyah movement. Harriet speculates about the possible attraction between Ari and Kitty, but Kitty tells her that she is merely there to help as a nurse and to stay close to Karen.