The children find Neelix waiting for them with a plasma lantern, and inquire what is wrong with the ship. He does his best to encourage the kids to relax; telling them the shut down is only temporary.

As Captain Janeway instructs the last of the ship to be shut down, the Borg children gather around Neelix's lantern. As they try to guess what is wrong with the ship, they decide it must have something to do with the "ghost" that is said to haunt a sealed off section of Deck 12. Neelix wants to make sure their imagination does not get the best of them and proceeds to tell them the story of the last nebula Voyager traveled through.

As Neelix's story opens, Voyager is cruising into a nebula similar to the one that is responsible for the power shut down. Neelix is explaining his own over-active imagination to Tuvok while Voyager collects deuterium outside.

Kim notices the collection was destabilizing the nebula and Chakotay convinces Janeway to stop the extraction. A second before Voyager leaves the nebula, an electric bolt rocks the ship! The captain immediately begins scanning the ship for damage and injuries, gradually finding that most of the electrical systems are failing.

Various functions on board begin to malfunction when Janeway notices they are off course and returning to the nebula they just left. Down in the cargo bay, where Seven of Nine is working, the air begins to fill with colorful gas, similar to that of the nebula. When Seven attempts to escape the room, she is surrounded by a forcefield and knocked unconscious by an energy beam moving through the gas.

In another part of the ship, Kim orders Neelix to remain in the mess hall while the other officers go to their posts. As the others leave, the lights in the mess hall go out, leaving Neelix alone in the dark.

While trying to bring the engines back on line, Paris is attacked by the same energy surge that got Seven. When Janeway and Tuvok take him to see the Doctor, they find a now conscious Seven of Nine, having been rescued by Chakotay. When the captain learns what happened to Seven, she begins to figure out what the problem with the ship really is.

Still in the dark, Neelix hears a thumping noise and moves to investigate. He is frightened when he sees a monster in the hallway, but is relieved to find it's only Tuvok in a gas mask. Tuvok has Neelix follow him through a Jefferies Tube, heading to engineering where the others are waiting.

Captain Janeway realizes that she can talk to this new electric life form through the ship's computer as it instructs her to go to the Astrometrics Lab. The lab reveals that the nebula the alien came from is no longer there. Out of anger, the computerized voice commands the Voyager crew to abandon ship.

In the Jefferies Tube, Tuvok is attacked by the electricity and wounded. Facing his fears, Neelix gains the courage to drag Tuvok through the dark all the way to engineering.

Reluctantly, Janeway complies with the abandon ship order, evacuating the entire crew except herself, who remains, trapped by the electric being. Reasoning with the new life, she convinces it that she can take it to a new nebula if it gives her back control of the ship. The creature agrees and releases Janeway.

When Janeway gets her crew back on board, they seal the alien off on Deck 12. This ends the story Neelix is telling the Borg children. When a loud thud is heard, Neelix explains to the kids that it's the alien being released into the new nebula.

The kids are excited about his story, but some of them are afraid that the creature did not leave and will attack them in the regeneration alcoves. Neelix then tells the children that he made the whole thing up. On the bridge, Captain Janeway confirms that the electric life form is now safely outside, happy in its new home.