Stardate: 42823.2 Enterprise races to evacuate a lost colony who’s planet is about to be destroyed. The rustic colonists, known as the Bringloidis, tell the crew that they had traveled from Earth many generations ago with a second colonist group, which continued on to another planet, after their colony was dropped off.

Enterprise decides to search for the second group, to check if the Mariposans, as the other group are known as, also survived. They soon find the Mariposans, and are surprised to find they all are descended from the five survivors of the ship, which crashed, and all are now clones. Dr. Pulaski believes that the Mariposan colony will soon die out due to cloning replicative fading.

The Mariposans ask the crew for some of their DNA, but when they refuse, the Mariposans then attempt to steal their DNA. When they are foiled in their attempt, the crew comes up with their own solution, which involves the commingling of the Bringloidis.