While travelling in a shuttle to the planet Ledos for a conference on Warp Field Dynamics, Chakotay and Seven of Nine take a detour to admire the natural landscape of one of the planet's subcontinents, and in doing so they scrape a mysterious energy barrier that starts to break the shuttle apart. Seven uses phasers to open a rift in the barrier, and they beam to the surface before the shuttle explodes. They find themselves stranded in a lush jungle, and in spite of Chakotay's leg injury, set out to find the shuttle debris in hopes of constructing a beacon to send a distress signal. They discover a tribe of primitive humanoids protected by the energy barrier. Meanwhile, Tom Paris commits a piloting violation and must take a three-day course in flight safety.

Paul Sandman (Healer)
Autumn Reeser (Girl)
Robert Curtis Brown (Ambassador)
Neil C. Vipond (Kleg)
Ivar Brogger (Barus)
Matt McKenzie (Port Authority Officer)
Brooke Benko (Transporter N.D.)

• Seven notes that the energy barrier technology was used by Species 312. According to the Ambassador, the energy barrier was erected by aliens to protect the Ventu from the Ledosians. These aliens were likely Species 312.