Under the watchful eyes of the Fire Nation military, new prisoners are dropped off at Kebu Camp outside of North Chung Ling. Among them is an Earth Kingdom monk, MOSHI, and an elder Air Nomad, Jyoti. Jyoti is trying to fight back and lamenting a reliquary of Air Nomad artifacts the soldiers have taken, but to no avail. As the prisoners are moved into the camp, a number rise up against Jyoti, blaming him and the Air Nomads for the Fire Nation's aggressiveness and their capture. Moshi steps into protect the Air Nomad, but warns against fighting back or getting involved -- he's a watcher and collector of relics, after all.
In the administration building, a Fire Nation prisoner named TOJI is going through mail with another inmate. Their job is to burn anything that shouldn't reach prisoners and report anything suspicious to the Warden. He sees a letter addressed to SHIZAKU YUMOU, a famed engineer and recent inmate as of a few days ago. He pockets the letter but doesn't read it, under a mistrustful eye of the other prisoner. He also overhears guards mention that General YAMA has dispatched one of his captains, SHAN, to the camp in order to take possession of Air Nomad artifacts recovered with the last batch of prisoners.
In the camp, Jyoti is talking to a duplicitous and conniving prisoner, a named known as NEZU the Rat. Nezu is discussing Jyoti's artifacts and their importance, and that he would want to turn them in to the Warden (for a big payday). Jyoti explains he needs to get them to a conclave at the Western Air Temple, where the Air Nomads are regrouping. This conversation is overheard from the shadows by DHARMA, a secret airbender rogue, who currently doesn't involve himself yet.
In the workhouses, SHIZAKU the engineer approaches as a Fire Nation soldier is berating one of the inmates. Shizaku steps in before a beating occurs, and intimidates the guard to back down.
Meanwhile, Toji goes to talk to Dharma, his friend in the camp, and discuss the letter meant for Shizaku. Toji's unsure of what it means, but something's going down. Moshi sees these two (a prisoner, and a Fire Nation soldier, even if an inmate) and suspects something untoward is happening.
Toji goes to Shizaku to deliver the letter. He leaves immediately though as Shizaku opens and read the letter. Shizaku sees it is a coded message from his company aide, Nue, who explains that if he can escape, there is a boat in Chung Ling that is waiting (at the full moon) to help him leave the island.
At night, Toji returns to Dharma and explains that Shizaku is an engineer and it seems like there might be a chance to escape. Moshi overhears this and looks to join in. Shizaku, in the nearby bunks, overhears this and tries to explain a semblance of an escape plan.
The next day, while working in the gardens with Jyoti, Moshi overhears Nezu how he's going to try and help out the air nomad. After Nezu leaves, Moshi tells Jyoti that working with Nezu will not work well. Jyoti calls on Moshi, then, to help in retrieve the valuable Air Nomad artifacts and escape. Dharma and Toji also meet up and discuss their current situation. Dharma calls out Toji for being too blinded to letting others help that they could all escape, but tries to comfort his ally. Toji is still skeptical about how everything is shaping up.
That night, the growing party of escapee-conspirators meets up to finalize details. Using small flash-bombs created by Shizaku, a distraction would occupy a number of the soldiers. Dharma and Toji would coordinate the patrol routes of the guards, and the group would attempt to retrieve the belongings from the contraband storage. An argument ensues about feasibility of the plan and Toji's trepidation, but eventually everyone agrees on a course of action and to trust each other.
The group moves out in the dead of night, and Toji manages to talk his way into the contraband sotrage, finding not just Jyoti's reliquary, but Moshi's shirshu and a scroll of Fire Nation plans. The guard is confused as Uzo walks out and then suddenly flattened by an escaping shirshu. The distraction works well and the Fire Nation begins to sound the alarm as the group moves through the nighttime streets of Chung Ling.
At the docks, Nue meets his master and hurries him onto a small boat, piloted by Shizaku's aide Joji. Before the Fire Nation soldiers can stream down from the prison, the boat takes off, with Nue saying he'll watch Shizaku's company in the Fire Nation while he escapes to the north-western Earth Kingdom. Jyoti thanks the group for getting him and the relics out, and that they must get to the Western Air Temple.
The dark waters engulf the ship in the night, as the fires of Kebu Camp shrink in the distance to the south of the escaping companions....
