Dr. Carter returns to the Congo to search for the body of a fellow doctor and reunites with several associates but the chaos, stench and danger of the country's long civil war threaten to curtail his efforts -- and again put him in harm's way. Elsewhere in the strife-torn country, Dr. Kovac is seen in flashbacks as he battles debilitating malaria while he ministers to the sick and dying in a land where life is cheap at best.