An invigorated Sisko returns from Bajor and decides to build a replica of an eight hundred-year-old Bajoran lightship, hoping to use it to prove that ancient Bajoran explorers could have made it to Cardassia before developing warp drive.

When Kai Winn is appointed Bajoran First Minister, Kira becomes concerned about Winn's growing grip on power. However, when the Kai orders Kira to convince her old Resistance leader to return some farming equipment to the government, the situation rapidly descends into a vicious power struggle.