Cuddy, House and members of the team join forces with a search-and-rescue team to provide much-needed medical attention at the scene of an emergency.

Tension reaches new heights when Cuddy faces sobering news that propels her to reevaluate her priorities. While House is distracted by his concern for Cuddy’s well-being, the team treats a teenage patient whose worsening symptoms and suspicious body scars indicate more than just physical illness.

House is serving out a lengthy prison sentence for his various misdeeds, including his trip outside the country in an attempt to escape responsibility. Entirely cut off from his old life, House determines his current problems are the result of his inability to deal with people. Feeling he will never be able to practice medicine again, he plans instead to go back to university to earn a doctorate in physics - a field that will all but assure his isolation from other human beings.