In this episode, Vedek Bareil (Philip Anglim), a Bajoran cleric who is the lover of Deep Space Nine's first officer Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor), is severely injured during pivotal negotiations with the Cardassians.
Kai Winn is pleased and wants Bareil to continue managing the negotiations, given his greater experience and diplomatic skill.
The surgery is a success, but Bareil is still severely brain-damaged with a life expectancy of only a few months, just enough time to possibly conclude his negotiations with the Cardassians.
Bareil is kept alive long enough to aid in completing the negotiations, and the treaty is signed between Bajor and Cardassia.
In a side plot, Jake Sisko (Cirroc Lofton) must confront his Ferengi friend Nog (Aron Eisenberg)'s misogynist attitudes toward women and dating.
Reviewing the episode for Tor.com in 2013, Keith R.A. DeCandido gave the episode a rating of five out of ten; he praised the performances of Siddig, Fletcher, and Visitor and the dynamics developed between their characters, but found Anglim's performance as Bareil "wooden", and the side plot involving Jake and Nog "out of place".