Commander Benjamin Sisko arrives on Deep Space Nine, where he has been assigned by Starfleet following the Cardassian withdrawal from Bajor. As the Federation crew tries to get accustomed to their new surroundings, Sisko is confronted with a Bajoran secret.
Sisko and Dax discover a wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant in Bajor's backyard, inhabited by non-corporeal entities that seek to learn about human life from the Commander. The Cardassians threaten DS9 when one of their warships goes missing.
Vash, a woman who has been stranded in the Gamma Quadrant for two years, arrives on the station -- and is followed by Q, a powerful alien entity who wants her to reconsider their broken relationship.
The crew gives aid to a damaged prisoner transport ship, only to discover that the "deceased" prisoner has transferred his consciousness to another person.
Quark is challenged to an unusual game with an alien representative -- and discovers that Sisko, Kira, Bashir, and Dax are trapped inside the game's virtual playing field.
The leader of the Ferengi empire arrives on the station to conduct an important meeting about exploiting the Gamma Quadrant -- and stuns everyone in attendance when he appoints Quark as his successor.
Odo's newest prisoner promises to help him find a secret colony of changelings in the Gamma Quadrant -- if they can escape the alien ship that wants to destroy him.
After escorting Kai Opaca on a sightseeing trip through the wormhole, Sisko, Kira, and Bashir crash-land on a prison moon and find themselves in the middle of an alien conflict.
O'Brien and Bashir visit a Bajoran village, where O'Brien is chosen to succeed the village elder who is responsible for saving the village from a hostile entity. Jake and Nog take an interest in a young Bajoran representative.
Kira must convince a stubborn Bajoran farmer to evacuate a moon that is about to be rendered inhospitable. Nog and Jake engage in a little business opportunity.
A group of alien ambassadors arrive on the station, including Lwaxana Troi -- who takes an immediate liking to Constable Odo. O'Brien fights a seemingly unwinnable battle with the station's computer system.
The mysterious destruction of a Klingon ship leads to a near mutiny on Deep Space Nine, as Kira and Sisko clash over a vessel suspected of transporting weapons material to the Cardassians.
The arrival of Vedek Winn, a Bajoran spiritual leader, throws DS9 into chaos as tensions rise between the station's Bajorans and Federation personnel. O'Brien investigates a murder on the station.
