At a Taelon Synod meeting, Da’an explains to his fellow Taelons why Boone should protect him, why he is a good choice. Da’an formally introduces Boone as his new agent at a conference. Boone is asked if the suspect in Doors's faked assassination was his friend, and Boone says yes, remembering things from his past.
Boone and Lili go to the street where Kate's car accident took place, and Boone begins looking around it. Lili warns him that if he seeks revenge, the Taelons will realized that he is not loyal to them, but Boone is determined. He finds a metal piece in the wreckage of Kate's car and discovers that it is a thermal transducer, which can ignite the fuel in a car, exploding it. He demonstrates it for Lili, who chides him.
Boone and Lili go to a warehouse, the home of Augur, a brilliant computer hacker. Boone hires Augur to find out who killed Kate. After looking over the evidence, Boone uses his CVI to think back to when he saw Kate off to her car, and remembers that there was a man nearby, who followed Kate.
Augur and Boone discover that the man was a murderer named Judson Corr. But Corr detects Augur's entry into his info, and sets a trap in his apartment. Boone is nearly killed when he goes to Corr's apartment, then is called away to Da'an. Da'an asks if Boone's CVI is working properly, because of Boone's apparent obsession with finding his wife's murderer. Boone asks if Da'an killed his wife, and Da'an claims not. Boone then lies, telling Da'an that he thinks that the man may have been targeting the rescuer of a Taelon, and Da'an accepts this claim. However, Sandoval is intending to kill Boone if he compromises Taelon security.
At the Flat Planet Cafe, Doors chides Boone for putting the Resistance in danger. Boone ignores him and assists Augur in luring Corr to the warehouse. Lili comes to help. Boone manages to subdue Corr, and almost drags a confession from him, when Sandoval appears and stuns Corr.
Boone asks Sandoval if he ordered Corr to kill Kate, and Sandoval admits it. He put his own wife in a mental institution, because her relationship interfered with his marriage to Dee Dee Sandoval. She was drugged unconscious and is kept in a special wing. Sandoval killed Kate to spare Boone, an act of perceived mercy.
Da'an and the Synod discuss humans and their dual ability to produce beauty and destruction. Orchids from Boone are delivered to Dee Dee Sandoval's room....
