A Bajoran spiritual leader sparks a conflict over what is taught to the children.
Vedek Winn objects to Keiko O'Brien teaching that the wormhole beings are aliens rather than gods, and Bajoran parents pull their children out of the school. The protest grows into a bombing of the classroom, while O'Brien investigates the death of a Starfleet ensign and a missing tool.
Sisko asks the more moderate Vedek Bareil for help. O'Brien finds that his Bajoran assistant Neela killed the ensign and is planning to murder Bareil, a rival of Winn's to become kai. Sisko stops her during Bareil's visit to the station, and it emerges that Neela had been working with Winn.