Badly damaged by a close encounter with a dwarf star, the U.S.S. Voyager discovers a world being torn apart by awesome volcanic stresses. The primitive inhabitants of Drenar Four face extinction unless the Starship Voyager intervenes -- something the Prime Directive forbids.

Captain Janeway's dilemma is complicated by the arrival of another starship. The Televek offer aid to both the Voyager and the endangered planet, but their offer may be too good to be true. Strange, ghostly visions trouble Janeway and her crew, warning them of danger to come.

Caught between uncertain allies and the threat of a global catastrophe, Janeway learns that the spectral warnings are very real....