Three months after the wedding, Britain declares war on Germany. While Rangoon prepares for war, the city’s inhabitants seem ambivalent to the idea that it might affect them. Rajkumar and Dinu bond unexpectedly while involving themselves in the civil defense preparations. During one such patrol in the rain, Rajkumar contracts pneumonia. He is placed into the same hospital–indeed, the same room–as the one that housed Dolly and Dinu twenty-four years prior. He lays in the bed, listening to war updates on the radio.

The updates help Rajkumar come to terms with his failings as a businessman. Though his pneumonia begins to heal, he seems overcome with sadness. He tells Dolly that, finally, he agrees with her: they should leave Burma. But the business has many debts and they must carefully extricate themselves from the country.

Arjun is stationed in Afghanistan. He spends a great deal of his time reading anything he can. Hardy visits en route to his own posting and brings news of mutinies across India. When Arjun moves back to Delhi, he discovers the army rapidly expanding and losing many of its traditions and customs at the same time. Both Arjun and Hardy are promoted rapidly, helping train the next generation.