Quark takes a female Ferengi assistant, and the Nagus's rules are tested.
Grand Nagus Zek sends Quark to open trade talks with the Dosi in the Gamma Quadrant, and Quark brings along Pel, a talented new employee who is secretly a female, a forbidden role in Ferengi business. Pel falls for Quark and confides in Dax.
Zek's impossible demands sink the deal, and the Dosi point the pair toward the Karemma, part of a power called the Dominion, which is what Zek really wanted to learn about. Rom exposes Pel's secret, but Quark protects her by noting that Zek himself had been fooled. Pel leaves for a new life in the Gamma Quadrant.