During a lunchtime disagreement with Bashir over the relative merits of Cardassian literature, Garak begins to loose his plain, simple demeanor and concerns Bashir immensely. Garak finally collapses, and Bashir discovers the source of the mysterious Cardassian's ailment - some kind of implant is connected to his brain. Quark, having been contacted by Garak to acquire something related to his problem, stumbles across the party responsible for the implant - Cardassia's Obsidian Order, a feared secret police organization which has been known to obtain information by means even darker than the Cardassian military's interrogators. Bashir risks delving into the mysteries of the Obsidian Order in a race against time to find a cure for Garak - and perhaps to learn some of his secrets.
