After losing a bet with Wilson over a boxing match, House believes his fighter has an underlying medical condition that cost him the fight. House presses the boxer for more information to prove his case and attempts to breathe new life into the losing fighter's career. Meanwhile, he leaves his team alone to help a bomb scientist who suffered a seizure. They also suspect House may be experimenting with a new drug to relieve his leg pain.

The team treats a performance artist Afsoun Hamidi who deliberately made herself ill, to turn the diagnostics department into her new masterpiece documentary. House must decide which of her symptoms are real and which are self-inflicted. The team questions whether treatments are necessary and if they are unwitting participants in creating a piece of her art. As the case progresses, House vows to change his life but remains rooted in old habits. After the case is over, House finally deals with his anger over the breakup and lashes out by driving through Cuddy's dining room and escaping to a beach.