A reception for recent Stafleet Advanced Tactical Training graduate Ro Laren is cut short when the Enterprise responds to a Cardassian ship's distress call. Arriving on the scene, Picard and the crew discover that the Cardassians are under attack by a flotilla of small vessels commanded by the renegade Maquis. After chasing them off and assisting the Cardassians, the Enterprise receives a visit from Admiral Nechayev, who delivers to Picard the message that Starfleet intends to use Ro to infiltrate the Maquis, and she accepts the mission, posing as an ex-Starfleet defector and gaining the acceptance of the Maquis. However, when Ro and her 'fellow' Maquis are the targets of a vicious Cardassian sneak attack, she begins to question Starfleet's rationale for stopping the Maquis.
