On the eve of his execution, Darnay comes to terms with his imminent death. After writing letters to Lucie, Doctor Manette, and Mr. Lorry, he spends the night restlessly trying to sleep. The next day, Carton enters the cell at one o'clock in the afternoon and exchanges clothes with him. Then, while Carton dictates a letter to Darnay, Carton drugs him so that he loses consciousness. Two guards, who believe that Darnay is Carton and that Carton is Darnay, then carry Darnay out of the prison. At two o'clock, guards take Carton from the cell to a larger room in which the fifty-two prisoners that the court has scheduled for execution are assembling. No one notices that he is not Darnay, except for a meek little seamstress who asks Carton to hold her hand on the way to the guillotine.
Meanwhile, the coach containing Mr. Lorry, Doctor Manette, Lucie, Darnay, and young Lucie passes through the gates of Paris, where they identify Darnay — who is still unconscious — as Carton. Despite delays and fears of discovery, the group escapes France.
