The episode is framed by a monologue from the (C.G.B. Spender), who outlines the history of the Syndicate and their secret 50-year alliance with extraterrestrials.
: It is revealed that Special Agent Diana Fowley has been a long-term operative for the Cigarette-Smoking Man , serving as his "mole" within the FBI. Critical Analysis and Themes
: A faction of faceless alien rebels, who mutilate themselves to avoid infection by the "Black Oil," begins an aggressive campaign to destroy the Syndicate and expose the hybridization project to the colonizers.