A Romulan defector leads the U.S.S. Enterprise into a deadly face-off that could erupt into full-scale war.

Answering a request for asylum from a Romulan scout ship, the crew beams aboard. Although he claims to be a low-ranking logistics officer, the vessel's pilot, Setal, shares a startling revelation: the Romulans have established a base on Nelvana III, from which they plan to launch a major offensive to reclaim the Neutral Zone. Informing Picard that the assault against the Federation will begin in 48 hours, the Romulan defector begs the captain to destroy the base to prevent a catastrophic war.

Without firm evidence supporting Setal's claims, Picard fears that Setal's story may be a Romulan ploy to trick the U.S.S. Enterprise into initiating war. His suspicions are heightened when Setal informs Picard that he is really a Romulan Admiral named Jarok, who once led a massacre of Federation outposts. Although Jarok now claims that he only wants to keep the peace, Worf alerts Picard that Klingon ships in the area have warned him not to trust the Romulan, since his race had once tricked a great Klingon commander into appearing the aggressor in a war.

With time running out on a volatile situation, Picard meets with his security officer, Worf, and then leads the U.S.S. Enterprise through the Neutral Zone to Nelvana III. When a closer probe of the planet reveals no Romulan power base, Jarok is dumbfounded.

Suddenly, the U.S.S. Enterprise is surrounded by three Romulan warships and ordered to surrender by Tomalak, a commander who once confronted Picard over a skirmish in the Galorndon Core. Picard realizes that Jarok, who had recently been reassigned to a position of lower rank, was used by the Romulans to lure the U.S.S. Enterprise into a trap. The information about the base was all just a ruse to test Jarok's loyalty to his leaders.

Picard refuses Tomalak's demands that the crew surrender and, at a prearranged moment, three Klingon warships uncloak, surrounding the Romulan ships. The odds stacked against him, Tomalak backs down and retreats, promising Picard that they will meet again. Knowing that his defection has cost him his family and his homeland, a despondent Jarok commits suicide.

Cast:

Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard
Jonathan Frakes as William Thomas Riker
LeVar Burton as Geordi La Forge
Michael Dorn as Worf
Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi
Gates McFadden as Beverly Crusher
Brent Spiner as Data
Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher

Guest Cast:

Andreas Katsulas as Tomalak
James Sloyan as Setal/Jarok
S.A. Templeman as John Bates
Stack Pierce as Admiral Haden

Creative staff:

Director: Robert Scheerer
Written By: Ronald D. Moore