 To convince the rest of the colony , Peter and Thea plan to use a piece of mythology , that a dog with four white paws would be born when it was time to leave . Such a dog had been born several days ago but has yet to open his eyes . Thea decides to proceed without using the dog and tries to convince the colony at a <unk> of the <unk> 's escape to Greenland with several allies who know of Rowen 's actions . Just as Thea and her allies are about to lose the argument , Peter arrives with the dog , whose eyes are open . That , coupled with the fact that Peter is an eye adept , the first in a hundred years , convinces the colony to listen to Thea instead of Rowen . The novel ends eight months later as the people of Gracehope are slowly educated on global warming and the dangers of staying in their colony . 
