A last-resort operation is performed on Charlie, who must confront his past in order to awake from his coma. Elsewhere, Joel leads risky surgery on a female jockey, and Alex could potentially cross a line when working with an Alzheimer's patient.

Alex must become the unlikely advocate for a violent young prisoner brought in to Hope Zion Hospital, while Joel connects with a disfigured refugee and tries to convince Dr. Dana Kinney to come back to operate on him. Meanwhile, a spirit who is familiar to many Hope Zion doctors shows up in the morgue when Charlie is about to do routine procedure.