A former crew member returns as an alien.
An alien arrives aboard Voyager claiming to be Lyndsay Ballard, an ensign who was killed on an away mission. She explains that the Kobali reproduce by reviving the dead of other species and altering them into Kobali, and that she escaped to rejoin her old crewmates. The Doctor confirms her identity and works to restore her human appearance.
Ballard rekindles her friendship with Harry Kim, but she finds she cannot fully return to her old life, as food tastes wrong and her emotions are unsettled. When her Kobali father comes for her, she chooses to leave with him. In a subplot, Seven of Nine struggles to manage the former Borg children.