La expedición de Atlantis se encuentra con una raza altamente avanzada, los Asurans. Inicialmente, creen que son los Antiguos. Sin embargo, esta nueva raza es solo una nueva cara de un viejo enemigo.

Dr Weir finds herself on Earth where, to everyone else, the Atlantis Expedition was just her delusion.

El equipo regresa a Atlantis en un intento de recuperar el control de la ciudad.

Sheppard and his team are lured to a planet and are soon put on trial for crimes against the people of the Pegasus galaxy. In flashbacks, the three judge tribunal recounts the indictment against them including the re-awakening of the Wraith and the various missions where at least a few, if not more, innocent bystanders were killed. Sheppard does his best to argue that on balance, fewer were killed by their presence than would have been the case if they had never been there. A least one of the judges is clearly determined to find them guilty while a second seems far more sympathetic. It's left to Richard Woolsey, who has now joined them, to plead the rest of their case. A lawyer by profession, Richard clearly knows how the game is played and focuses on that third judge.