Plot summary
At his weekly lunch date with Dr. Julian Bashir, Garak appears to be having severe headaches, but refuses to allow Bashir to help. Bashir later hears Garak discussing a deal with the bartender and small-time criminal Quark. The next day, Garak collapses in pain after drinking heavily, and Bashir takes him to the infirmary.
Bashir finds that Garak has an implant of some sort in his brain. He and Constable Odo observe Quark trying to order a piece of Cardassian biotechnology, which turns out to be classified by the Obsidian Order, the feared Cardassian intelligence agency.
Garak eventually reveals to Bashir that the implant was installed by the former head of the Obsidian Order, Enabran Tain. It was designed to make Garak resistant to torture, but he has been using it to cope with the pain of living in exile, becoming addicted to it; and it is now breaking down from overuse. Garak claims he deserves his punishment and tells how he once destroyed a ship containing 98 Cardassians, including his aide, Elim.
Bashir turns the implant off, and Garak becomes extremely agitated. He explains that rather than killing Elim, he was exiled for releasing a group of Bajoran children he was supposed to interrogate. After expressing disdain for his friendship with Bashir, Garak again loses consciousness.
Even with the implant off, Garak is still dying. Bashir considers turning the implant back on to save him. Garak refuses, and decides to tell Bashir the "truth": Elim was not Garak's aide but his childhood friend. The two were both powerful men in the Obsidian Order until Garak tried to frame Elim for releasing Bajoran prisoners, but Elim beat Garak to the punch and Garak was exiled.
Bashir seeks out Enabran Tain to ask for his help. Tain tells Bashir that if he were truly Garak's friend he would allow Garak to die; however, he agrees to give Bashir the information needed to counteract the effects of the implant. Before departing, Bashir asks Tain what truly became of Elim. Tain laughs and explains that Elim is Garak's first name.
After recovering, Garak resumes his weekly lunches with Bashir. He says he has heard a strange rumor: Odo thinks Garak was once a member of the Obsidian Order. Pressed for "real answers", Garak tells the doctor that all his stories have been true - especially the lies.
Credits
Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, The Wire (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine). Paragraphs and formatting adjusted; illustrations, reference markers, block quotations and non-story material omitted.