Tom Paris designs a new type of shuttlecraft named the "Delta Flyer" with Borg and Starfleet technologies to retrieve a Starfleet probe stuck in a giant planet's hazardous atmosphere and gravity well before aliens do. Torres exhibits reckless behavior by engaging in dangerous holodeck programs, such as orbital sky diving; her erratic behavior over several months comes to a peak and alarms her crewmates.

While Voyager searches for the crew of the crashed Delta Flyer carrying Tuvok, Paris, and Ensign Samantha Wildman, Neelix must keep Samantha's daughter Naomi occupied. He tries to amuse her with a magical "holonovel" about forest creatures called Flotter and Trevis. When it is discovered that Samantha is badly injured, Neelix must decide how much he should tell Naomi in an attempt to protect her feelings.