Ariadne is overjoyed when on one of her nightly patrols, she encounters a feral Andorian living in the remains of the
Shaldani forest named Bendix. While she becomes familiar with her newfound cousin however, another family reunion goes
less than well back at the House. Shawn's brother Dagllas resurfaces to pay a visit and though Eris greets her father
with open arms, Shawn and Casey make very plain their disapproval of Dagllas' abandonment of her.
Soon, Dagllas' ulterior motive for visiting the House is revealed when he begins soliciting the natives of the Phoenix
Fighters to leave the House and join his underground rebellion against the Ebene. He further boasts that once the foe
is eliminated, he will dethrone the monarchy and set up a democracy himself. When some of the natives complain to Casey
about his behavior, she reports it to Adriana. Adriana politely asks Dagllas to leave. He agrees, asking only
that his daughter remain, a request Adriana grants.
The incident leaves Shawn and Casey somewhat strained and the Ebene, taking note, decide to take advantage of the situation.
They point out the location of the House to a ghost named Lloyd who, in his life, was obsessed with Kara Fanel. Suddenly
aware of the presence of her daughter Mia, Lloyd possesses Shawn and uses his body to violently rape Mia. Cammie, witnessing
the event, reports it to Casey the next day. Casey calmly packs up her belongings and gives a letter of resignation
to Adriana before leaving the House, reportedly for Sybok.
Shawn's name is quickly cleared, although Tranns is forced to secretly break a drunken Aden's hand to prevent him from
harming Shawn. Desperate to get Casey back and denied permission to leave for Sybok, Shawn gives a letter to Ariadne
who in turn asks Bendix to deliver it. Bendix dutifully brings it to Casey at the Tin Roof, but is surprised when she
discards the note without reading it. Soon after, Dagllas pays Casey a visit and offers her another chance at membership
to his movement. She accepts and quickly learns his next target, for which she is asked to prepare some explosives.
Meanwhile, an exhausted Adriana decides it's time for a bit of R&R. She travels to Sybok herself and convinces
Kit to join her on a trip to Miranda. Leaving Casey in charge of the Tin Roof, the women set off for their trip.
Dagllas returns to the tavern and finds three refugees dead, Casey holding a knife. She is soon revealed to be a shapeshifter;
the real Casey never made it to Sybok. Bravely, Dagllas disposes of the Ebene, but not before learning that the Ebene
had planned from the beginning to have Shawn driven out of the House by his actions, not Casey, and to use him to learn of
Dagllas' plans. After destroying the fiend, Dagllas returns to the House just long enough to explain what happened,
leaving the others to wonder about the real Casey's whereabouts.
