As the Enterprise nears a black hole in a trinary star system, radiation from the stellar phenomenon causes the crew to become increasingly erratic and obsessed with mundane tasks. Trip, for example, can't stop tinkering with the Captain's chair, while Phlox is fiercely determined to find the cause of Mayweather's headache. Eventually, crew members fall unconscious one by one, leaving T'Pol the only one left awake to save the ship.

Trip boards a Retellian freighter to repair a stasis pod, which holds an exotic-looking alien female in suspended animation. When the woman accidentally wakes up, Trip discovers she's a kidnapped Krios royal and prisoner, not a passenger. He frees Kaitaama, but her haughty behavior interferes with his rescue efforts when the pair flees the freighter sharing a cramped escape pod. Archer pressures a captured kidnapper to help him locate Trip and Kaitaama.