June asks Emily to decline most appearances, choosing to avoid bookstores and book clubs while still attending award ceremonies for validation. The Last Front attracts multiple nominations and wins the Goodreads Choice Award, bringing fresh press, a sales bump, and renewed bestseller status.

Her agent Brett relays film interest, leading June to meet Greenhouse producers Justin and Harvey in Georgetown. They praise the book’s “diverse” appeal and immediately discuss packaging: expanding a minor British officer’s role for a marquee star, floating names like Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Tom Holland, and targeting the Chinese box office with a pop-star lead. Harvey makes an insensitive joke about Asian English; Justin reframes this as market calculus. They invoke adaptation as inherently unfaithful and ask for June’s “vision,” but offer few specifics.

Unprepared to argue and eager for momentum, June cedes creative control, assuring them she trusts their expertise and prioritizing accessibility for American audiences. The meeting ends with enthusiasm but no concrete terms, and June leaves with only vague promises and compliments.

Brett later says the feeler meeting is standard and that offers come later. June researches option mechanics, tempers expectations about a studio green light, and imagines best-case scenarios—streamers, red carpets, marquee casting for A Geng and Annie Waters, and a multimedia empire—while recognizing it could all stall.