Plot summary
Chief Miles O'Brien has gone missing on the planet New Sydney searching for Morica Bilby, the widow of a member of the Orion Syndicate whom he befriended while undercover. Because Ezri Dax 's family, the Tigans, own a mining operation on a nearby planet, she is sent to find O'Brien.
Returning home for the first time in several years, Ezri is reunited with her domineering mother, Yanas Tigan—a shrewd businesswoman—and her brothers Norvo and Janel, who work for the business. Yanas promises to look into O'Brien's disappearance, while criticizing Ezri's life choices. Norvo is happy to see Ezri, while Janel is bitter about how infrequently she visits. Catching up with Norvo, Ezri urges him to move away from home, escape their mother's constant criticism, and pursue his interest in art, about which he is intensely self-critical.
The local police deliver O'Brien to the Tigan home, having rescued him from a run-in with the Orion Syndicate. O'Brien has found Morica Bilby dead, and suspects she was killed by the Syndicate; the police reject this theory on the grounds that the Syndicate would never murder the widow of one of their own.
O'Brien helps Janel repair some mining equipment, which has had inexplicable malfunctions lately. Bokar, an agent of the Orion Syndicate, warns Janel that O'Brien's life will be in danger if he doesn't leave immediately. O'Brien guesses that the Orion Syndicate is intimidating the Tigans and gets Ezri's permission to check the mining company's financial records. He is stunned to learn that Morica Bilby was on the Tigan payroll at the time of her death, implying that someone close to Ezri may be involved in Morica's murder.
Ezri confronts her family with O'Brien's findings. Janel admits that Morica was on the payroll to repay a debt to the Syndicate, which bailed the mining company out of a financial crisis, but he denies killing Morica. Angered that her son struck such a corrupt deal behind her back, Yanas doubts his innocence. To everyone's surprise, Norvo admits that he killed Morica after she tried to extort more money from the family. He tries to justify his action by saying that he was never trusted to make big decisions. As a result, Norvo is sentenced to 30 years in prison. When Yanas asks Ezri to reassure her that she isn't responsible for her son's downfall, Ezri does not answer.
Credits
Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, Prodigal Daughter (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine). Paragraphs and formatting adjusted; illustrations, reference markers, block quotations and non-story material omitted.