Chelsea General is home to some of the top surgeons in the world, thanks in large part to the hospital's notorious Monday morning morbidity and mortality – or "311" – conferences. In these legendary meetings, Chief of Staff Harding Hooten leads a harsh, closed-door review of the complications encountered and mistakes made during the course of patient care. As the series opens, Trauma Chief Jorge Villanueva treats what appears to be an attempted suicide by car only to discover that the crash victim suffered a life-threatening brain aneurysm. Renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Ty Wilson is shaken by the case of 11-year-old Quinn McDaniels, whose soccer injury reveals a much graver problem. Workaholic Dr. Sydney Napur solves a case that had the rest of the hospital staff stumped. Meanwhile, Dr. Sung Park performs high-tech deep brain stimulation on a patient with uncontrollable hand tremors.

Tina's proposal to use an unorthodox procedure to treat a young man with extreme O.C.D. divides the surgeons at the 311 conference. At the same time, Villanueva must find a way to treat a girl with critical internal bleeding who refuses care because of her religious beliefs. Sung discovers that no good deed goes unpunished when a former patient sues him after her successful surgery creates an unforeseen side effect – abnormally increased sexual appetite.

During Monday's 311 conference, Hooten calls Dr. Stewart Delany to explain how a careless mistake killed Delany's young patient. But the outcome of the conference leaves the hospital's surgeons conflicted. Sydney and Villanueva operate on Keith Harriman, a young man with extensive injuries from an apparent suicide attempt. Sydney and Buck wonder about the resources wasted on those who cannot or do not want to be saved. And Mark Ridgeway returns, determined to make Ty and Tina pay for their adultery.