The ship takes a violent prisoner for a government that created him.
The Enterprise visits Angosia III, which is applying for membership in the Federation. When a prisoner named Danar escapes from a prison facility, the crew finds that he is a highly trained, enhanced soldier. The Angosians used him and others like him in a war, and now they are held as prisoners because they cannot return to normal life.
Picard has to choose between the rules of the Federation and the moral claim of the veterans who have been left behind. The story is a thoughtful parable of how societies treat their soldiers once the war is over. It is a strong, serious entry in the third season, which highlights the way the Federation tries to resolve moral disputes through diplomacy.