Tuvok mind-melds with crewman Lon Suder to understand why he killed a shipmate and then struggles with the violent impulses it leaves him.
Tuvok investigates a murder aboard Voyager and finds that the culprit is Suder, a Maquis crew member with a violent past. He conducts a mind meld with the man to understand his motives, and the experience leaves Tuvok struggling to keep his emotions under control.
The episode is a study of the Vulcan discipline of logic and what happens when it is pushed past its limits. It also gives the recurring character of Suder a place in the crew, and it explores the question of whether a violent person can find a way to live peacefully.