- We interrupt this touching moment from Taylor's life to bring you another thrilling installment of Hannah's Book. Is it fiction? Is it nonfiction? That question is still up for debate.
- It's holiday break at Jellicoe School (gee, that sounds familiar) and the Fabulous Five are bored out of their minds (just like Taylor). Sitting by the river, Webb explains his plan to build a tunnel that runs under the Houses.
- They argue about whether they need a tunnel in a place like Jellicoe. After all, it's not like it's World War II and there are Nazis afoot.
- This discussion leads Webb to get another fabulous idea to bust the boredom: They should have a war.
- The gang has a meeting to come up with the rules for the war, which Webb writes in a purple book. They divide the area into territories that will be split between the Cadets, the Townies, and the school.
- They decide that by the time Jude returns the following year, they'll have the tunnel ready, the factions mobilized, and the war ready for action.
- For the rest of the holidays, Taylor spends most of her time with Santangelo and Griggs, as well as Jessa. During this time, she realizes two things—that the guys are fun to be around, and that she and Jessa have a ridiculous amount of stuff in common… including Hannah.
- In one of their conversations, Jessa tells Taylor that Hannah turned up one day and brought her to the school, which sounds suspiciously like Taylor's own story.
- Jessa also says she suspects that the Brigadier knows where Hannah is because she and Taylor have something else in common: He spends a lot of time staring at them.
- There are also rumors afoot that the Brigadier might be the serial killer because the killings always take place during the time the Cadets are in town.
- On the last Saturday of break, Santangelo, Jonah, Raffaela, and Taylor return to the place by the river where Xavier/Webb disappeared. Santangelo says that he thinks the Hermit was obsessed with the river because he knew the kid.
- They decide that someone should jump into the water and swim to the bottom to look for evidence from the crime; Raffaela and Santangelo volunteer to go in.
- While she's underwater, Jonah kisses Taylor again, but then they have a fight about whether or not they actually like each other like that. Yeesh, the drama never stops with these two.
- Not surprisingly, nobody finds anything related to the disappeared kid underwater.
- After Santangelo and Raffaela drop them off on the Jellicoe Road, Jonah and Taylor attempt to work out their feelings. It's definitely complicated.
- Taylor finally snaps and says Jonah was trying to get rid of her just like her mother was, and it all started when he called his school during their three-day journey after meeting at the train station.
- Then Jonah drops a bombshell: He lied to Taylor the day they met on the platform—he wasn't there to get on the train, he was planning on killing himself by jumping in front of it.