Colin Blakeney, 21st century inventor of the technology that will give the Earth the transporter and the holodeck, is the victim of a treacherous attack that beams him out of his world... and into forever. Three hundred years later, the crew of the USS Enterprise-E spot a stray transporter beam in deep space. On their way to an encounter with the Palami – a hostile race that may be preparing for interstellar war – Captain Picard and crew have other things on their minds, but realizing there's a living being inside the wayward beam, they bring it aboard... and encounter a mystery for the ages!
