Jean Luc Picard and the Enterprise are dispatched to a planet on the edge of the Romulan neutral zone to assist the Captain of Star Base 37, an old friend of Picard's, with his troubles with a strange pirate, who is making life tough for federation merchant shipping. The greedy local dictator, who has taken over the reigns of power from his father is not exactly helpful to the federation, and there is reason to believe that he's in league with the Romulans. Picard finds himself in the middle of a tricky diplomatic situation, hovering on the brink of possible war with the Romulan Empire or the loss of the planet to Romulan influence.