After the startling revelations of Episode 412, the fleet and its Cylon allies have united in a joint search for Earth. They encounter a devastated world where their expectations are shattered by events that echo down the millennia. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace learns that the dire predictions of the Ancient Hybrid (of "Razor") may be true about her.
Meanwhile, in the ruins of an ancient city, Saul Tigh, Galen Tyrol, Samuel Anders, and Tory Foster discover unsettling keys to their past.
The discovery of the wasteland planet casts doubt on the Prophecies of Pythia, and the whole belief system of the Colonials comes crashing down. President Laura Roslin's spirit is broken. Admiral William Adama finds solace in the bottle and turns his anger on Tigh, his old friend-turned-toaster, in an electrifying confrontation. For her part, Dualla gives her ex-husband, Lee Adama, a sense of purpose by urging him to fill the vacant leadership role and rekindle some small measure of hope in the despairing people of the fleet.
