Percy, Grover, Thalia, and Zoë need to reach the Hesperides by sunset, since they can only enter the garden of twilight as day transitions to night. They also have to keep Bessie safe, so Grover volunteers to accompany the Ophiotaurus back to the Long Island Sound, where Chiron can help get it to Olympus. Percy offers a sacrifice of his lion skin jacket to his father Poseidon so that he will help them cross the sea safely and quickly. Just then, he realizes that the hero that Zoë helped was Hercules.

Now that they can take a car since Bessie isn’t with them, they consider stealing one until Thalia realizes that she has the address of someone who lives in San Francisco: Annabeth’s father, Professor Chase. They go to his house and explain what’s happened to Annabeth.

Frederick Chase leads them up to his study, which is filled with toy soldiers and a model of the Third Battle of Ypres (he is a professor of military history). Zoë points out that the German army was in a slightly different location, and Professor Chase is confused but interested. Thalia explains that Zoë is a Hunter but then focuses the professor’s attention back to what’s happening in the present.