Dr. Stephen Franklin (RICHARD BIGGS), chief medical officer on the space station Babylon 5, examines Shon (JONATHAN CHARLES KAPLAN), the young child of a visiting alien family. He tell the parents, M'ola (TRICIA O'NEIL) and Tharg (STEPHEN LEE), that a simple operation is needed to remove a blockage from Shon's throat. However, the family's ancient religion dictates that any puncture of the body allows the spirit to escape, leaving a carcass that can't be redeemed by their God. Dr. Franklin insists that Shon will die without the procedure, but they refuse to give the doctor permission to operate.

Furious that the child will die because of an alien superstition, Dr. Franklin files an official complaint with station commander Jeffrey Sinclair (MICHAEL O'HARE). By the laws of the Earth Alliance that controls Babylon 5, he asks Sinclair to overrule the aliens' parental authority and approve the operation.

Fearing that Sinclair will decide in favor of Dr. Franklin, M'ola and Tharg asks the four alien ambassadors to plead their case before Babylon 5's security council and prevent Dr. Franklin from disobeying their religious belief. G'Kar (ANDREAS KATSULAS), Londo Mollari (PETER JURASIK), Ambassador Delenn (MIRA FURLAN) and Kosh Naranek (ARDWIGHT CHAMBERLAIN) all refuse to get involved with the politically sensitive moral dilemma.

After learning how devoutly the alien family believes in the body's purity, Sinclair realizes that defying their faith would contradict Babylon 5's humanitarian mission to be a peaceful galactic oasis that respects the unique rights of every alien race. He forbids Dr. Franklin to operate on Shon.

After M'ola and Tharg say a final good-bye to their dying child, Dr. Franklin and his assistant, Dr. Maya Hernandez (SILVANA GALLARDO), risk their careers by performing the operation. Obeying their medical ethics, they're convinces that once the aliens see their child alive and healthy, they'll realize the error of their superstitious judgment.

Even though Shon recovers completely, when M'ola and Tharg see his neck incision, they curse him as an undead thing without a soul. Shon allows them to destroy his body in a sacrificial ritual. M'ola and Tharg concede that Dr. Franklin was obeying his own morality but can't forgive his desecration of their child. Dr. Franklin realizes that the multi-cultural galaxy is filled with many different definitions of morality. He';; forever be haunted by the ordeal of Shon's struggle between life and death.