A negotiator for a wormhole competes with the Ferengi.
The Enterprise hosts talks for the rights to a stable wormhole discovered by the people of Barzan. One of the bidders is Devinoni Ral, a negotiator with partial Betazoid ancestry who uses his hidden empathic sense to gain an edge, and he and Troi begin a romance.
The Ferengi arrive uninvited, and both they and the Enterprise send craft through the wormhole to test it. Data and Geordi find that its far end is not fixed. They return in time, but the Ferengi are stranded far from home.
Troi discovers that Ral has been exploiting his ability throughout the negotiations. He wins the bid, now worthless, and she ends the relationship, troubled by how he uses his gift.