During his childhood, Miles discovers a unique and unsettling ability: he can hear the voices of the deceased, provided that their physical remains are in close proximity. Years later, as his mother, Lara, battles a terminal case of cancer, Miles seeks the truth about his origins. Upon questioning her about his father, Lara reveals a cold truth—that his father passed away when Miles was only an infant and that the man had possessed no care or affection for either Lara or his son.
In his adult life, Miles uses this gift for profit. He is hired by a grieving father to communicate with his deceased son. However, because the boy's body had already been cremated, Miles is unable to actually hear him. To satisfy the client, he fabricates a message, lying that the boy knew his father loved him. This pattern of opportunistic behavior continues when he is approached by Naomi Dorrit. After she confirms that his abilities are genuine and not a fraud, she offers him a staggering sum of $1.6 million to travel to a mysterious island via a freighter. Miles accepts the offer, but his plans are interrupted when he is kidnapped by a group who claims that the freighter's owner, Charles Widmore, belongs to the "wrong team."
Miles proves to be a shrewd negotiator; he informs his captors that he will only abandon the mission to the island if they double his payment to $3.2 million. Their leader, Bram, poses a specific riddle to him:
> "What lies in the shadow of the statue?"
Because Miles is unable to provide the answer, Bram informs him that he is not yet ready to return to the island and releases him. In a rare moment of conscience, Miles later returns the money he earned from the father of the cremated boy, confessing his lie and advising the man that he should have expressed his love to his son while he was still alive.
Meanwhile, in a different timeline and location, Kate Austen and James "Sawyer" Ford return after delivering a young Ben Linus to the island's indigenous population, known as the Others. Kate returns to the infirmary where Juliet Burke had been treating Ben for a gunshot wound. Ben's father, Roger, arrives and immediately notices his son is missing. Although Kate attempts to comfort a drunken Roger, he becomes deeply suspicious of her motives and demands the truth about Ben's disappearance. Roger eventually shares his suspicions with Jack Shephard, who in turn alerts Sawyer and Juliet. The tension peaks when Phil confronts Sawyer, having seen security footage of the abduction. In a swift move to protect their secret, Sawyer knocks Phil unconscious and instructs Juliet to find rope to bind him.
Parallel to these events, Miles Straume is tasked by Horace Goodspeed, the leader of the Dharma Initiative on the island, to transport a corpse from the construction site of the Swan Station to the Orchid Station for Dr. Pierre Chang—who is revealed to be Miles's father. During the trip, Hugo "Hurley" Reyes attempts to take the van to deliver food to the same location. Since no other vehicles are available, Miles reluctantly allows Hurley to ride along.
During the journey, Hurley discovers the body in the van and realizes that Miles shares his own supernatural ability to communicate with the dead. As they discuss the nuances of their gifts, they arrive at the Orchid Station and deliver the body to Dr. Chang. After the body is disposed of and Dr. Chang is dropped back at the construction site, Miles discovers that Hurley is attempting to write the screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back from memory to give to George Lucas. Hurley draws a poignant parallel between the relationship of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader and the strained bond between Miles and his father, as well as Hurley's own history with his father. Hurley encourages Miles to find peace, noting that forgiving his own father for abandoning him was the best thing he ever did.
The story culminates as Miles visits Dr. Chang's home and witnesses his father interacting with a three-month-old version of himself. Shortly after, Dr. Chang leads the adult Miles to the dock to meet arriving Dharma scientists. Among the newcomers is Daniel Faraday, who recognizes Miles and remarks that it has been a very long time since they last saw one another.
