Grand Nagus Zek, the leader of the Ferengi Alliance, pays a surprise visit to lowly Quark's Bar to host a conference on exploiting the Gamma Quadrant -- and names Quark, not his own son, as his successor.

A glimpse of the wormhole and Gamma Quadrant turns tragic, when a runabout carrying Kai Opaka, Sisko, Bashir, and Kira crashes on a planet of eternal war, where it is impossible for the combatants to die.