The carnival finally arrives in Babylon, a tapped-out silver mining town in rural Texas with few inhabitants. Samson tries to improve the troupe's spirits with a night of revelry at the local bar while Sofie and Libby (one of the chooch dancers) get closer and decide to attend the local cinema. Eventually, a group of restless miners arrive in time for the chooch show, but with drastic consequences when they start a riot. Meanwhile, Ben has an enlightening experience at the bottom of a mineshaft where he has a vision of the mysterious Scudder fighting in the trenches of World War I.