Chemical hypnosis and the ship's neural link are used to explore the memories secreted away in Five's subconscious, during which she uncovers the dark truth about Four and Six's violent pasts. She also learns about the circumstances that landed her on the ship and gains some insight into the idyllic childhood of a mysterious little boy.
A visiting arms dealer changes Defiance's fortunes, and divides Amanda, Nolan and Berlin; at the same time, Nolan encounters difficulty recruiting a militia to fight the oncoming Votanis Collective army. Elsewhere, Stahma's presence causes strife among the mysterious Omec; and Datak and Alak have a reckoning.
A new teacher is hired and uses non-traditional ways of learning to engage the students, and the principal does not agree. Cory defends the teacher, which ultimately gets him in trouble too.
The Messengers' powers are tested as they attempt to rescue someone from government lockup. Meanwhile, Joshua has a vision foreshadowing the arrival of a deceptive new adversary.