Adam returns to Gates of Praise with his beautiful hair cut off, one of his father’s requirements. Jane comes back bearing high quality marijuana that she procured from an old flame back home. Erin becomes obsessed with religious exercise videos and begs Cameron to join her in her workout routine. Cameron obliges Erin a couple of times.

Cameron notices that the longer she stays at Promise, the more its ideologies “stick” to her. Cameron begins group support sessions, led by Lydia. Mark, as well as Dane Bunsky, a recovering meth addict attending Promise on scholarship, also constitute her support group. Mark is Lydia’s star pupil.

However, after returning from Christmas break, Mark appears noticeably withdrawn in group support session. Lydia forces Mark to share what is bothering him. Mark raises his voice and points out that Lydia already knows what is bothering him because she reads student mail. Mark received an unsettling letter from his father. Mark recites part of the letter, in which his father declares Mark too weak and feminine to return home. Lydia urges Mark to probe what incited his father’s decision. Mark retorts, “I happened. Just me. Like always” (367). Mark then aggressively reads his father’s favorite passage from the Bible.