Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet and Maquis crew of the starship USS Voyager after they were stranded in the Delta Quadrant far from the rest of the Federation. In this episode, Voyager investigates possible sources of a material it needs to continue on its journey home and Chakotay (Robert Beltran) mysteriously finds a symbol known to his family's Native American tribe back on Earth.

Leading an away team to an uninhabited planet, Chakotay (Robert Beltran) comes across a familiar symbol drawn on the ground. He has a flashback and remembers seeing a similar symbol drawn by his Native American tribe on Earth when he was a young boy (Douglas Spain). Tuvok (Tim Russ) attempts to question him about it, but he is reluctant to discuss it with him. He tells Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) about his discovery, though, and the two of them find a warp trail leading away from the moon to a planet. They decide to investigate, both to pursue the mystery of the symbol and because the planet contains useful minerals.

Efforts to reach the planet are inexplicably hindered. Isolated storms form instantly when the crew tries to beam down by transporter, and when they take a shuttlecraft, more intense storms develop, making approach difficult. When they finally touch down, Neelix (Ethan Phillips) is attacked by a hawk and must be transported back to the ship. Chakotay has further flashbacks, and remembers hiking through a rain forest on Earth with his father (Henry Darrow) in an attempt to locate their ancestral tribe. As a teenager, he had been unreceptive to the experience, telling his father that their heritage is unimportant and that they should embrace the 24th century rather than focusing on their past. The Voyager away team discovers structures similar to those that Chakotay and his father discovered on their journey.

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