Liam returns to his loft.

Devon is waiting there for him. He tells Liam that Gina has disappeared -- Reverend Murray told him that she was on a two-year missionary assignment, but Devon refuses to believe that she would leave without saying goodbye.

He asks Liam to speak with the Reverend on his behalf. Liam agrees.

Aboard the mothership, Sandoval consults with Zo'or about the Fields project. Zo'or worries about the Resistance discovering the Earth-based Taelons' "dependence."

Liam visits Reverend Murray at his headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina. He asks about Gina and the Reverend tells Liam that Gina "left to continue the work of the Companions."

He refuses to tell Liam where Gina has gone. He receives a call, and concludes their meeting.

Murray tells the caller, "A Companion Protector was just here. No, no, he doesn't know anything about the Fields."

Back at the office, Liam notes that Da'an appears drained. The Taelon insists that his fatigue is due to a malfunction in the embassy's energy spheres.

Liam offers to shuttle Da'an back to the mothership, but Da'an prefers to wait until Sandoval arrives.

Liam asks about the Church's mission program. He mentions reports of people disappearing from the Church.

Da'an claims that the Synod prefers to keep their distance from the Church. He also claims ignorance when Liam inquires about the Fields.

Sandoval arrives. Liam departs.

Da'an holds out his hand to Sandoval. The agent says, "Bottoms up," and sprinkles a pinch of dust into the Taelon's outstretched palm.

The dust dissolves into energy and cascades through Da'an's body.

Liam calls Devon's motel. The receptionist tells him the young man checked out, leaving his suitcase behind.

Volunteers haul Devon into Reverend Murray's office.

The Reverend laments the waste of Devon's potential. He decries the fact that Devon is too attached to earthly concerns to dedicate himself to the Taelons.

Devon demands to know where Gina went. The Reverend tells him, "How about if we just send you to her?

The Volunteers take Devon away.

Liam calls Reverend Murray and asks whether the Reverend has seen Devon. Murray lies and tells Liam he hasn't seen Devon since he left the faith.

In his lair, Augur packs for a tropical vacation.

Meanwhile, Renee briefs Liam on the Church's mission program. She also tells him that the Church attracts people with little to no family.

Their only connection to society is through the Church. When they disappear, no one misses them.

Liam wants to find out what the Church is doing with the people who go missing. He also wants to know whether the Taelons are directly involved.

Renee tells Liam that they need to get inside to Church if they want to learn what's really going on.

They recruit Augur to help them infiltrate the Church. He reluctantly agrees.

Liam, fashionably dressed as an upscale drifter, arrives at the Georgetown branch of the Church of the Companions.

Samuel, the rector of the Church, invites Liam to share a meal and attend a meeting.

At first, Liam -- who introduces himself as "Robert Price" -- feigns reluctance, but eventually allows Samuel to lead him into the church.

Food additives

Later, Samuel preaches the Taelon message. He tells the dozen or so prospective converts in attendance that Taelon teachings point the way to a new relationship with the universe.

After the service, Samuel stops to talk with Liam. He introduces him to another newcomer, "Susan Evans", a.k.a., Renee Palmer.

Samuel invites Liam to stay at the mission. Liam accepts.

In the dormitory, Liam receives a message from Devon on his global. Devon tells Liam that he is leaving for Utah and that he made his peace with Gina's disappearance.

Renee comes over to Liam. He tells her about Devon's message.

Samuel interrupts them. He notices that Renee appears unwell.

When she tells him it must have been something she ate, he replies, "You don't know how right you are."

He explains that the mission's food supply contains a Taelon additive, which they call "manna," after the food God supplied to the Israelites in the wilderness. Samuel promises that they will adjust to their new diet.

The next day, Liam and Renee bring a sample of manna to Augur's for analysis. He tells them that it is an organic compound. Liam suspects that they put it in the food to make potential converts more suggestible.

Augur also provides an analysis of Devon's message. A close-up on the image shows that his pupils are dilated, suggesting Devon was drugged when he left the message.

Liam and Renee return to the Church of the Companions. Augur follows them. He reports that the police found the body of a missing church missionary.

She died of an apparent allergic reaction. The police found traces of an unknown substance in a puncture wound on her stomach.

Augur finessed a sample from the medical examiner. He promises to analyze it for them. He also tells them that Volunteers have taken an interest in the missionary's death.

Sandoval and Reverend Murray meet with Zo'or. The agent reports that, "Local authorities confiscated one of our Fields before my people could get there."

Zo'or is upset by the loss. Both Sandoval and Murray reassure him that one death is an acceptable loss. Zo'or refuses to accept their estimate.

Back at the mission, Samuel watches Liam and Renee. A deacon tells him that background checks indicate that "Robert" and "Susan" have no family. Samuel deems them perfect candidates for a mission.

Augur calls. He reports that the substance found in the dead missionary is similar to manna. Unlike the food additive, the sample contains a human component as well.

The body was found outside Norton, a small town in southern Maryland. The town was all but deserted when the Church bought up most of the land in the area.

That night, Samuel steals into Liam's dormitory. He runs an electronic wand over Liam's global, deactivating it.

He wakes "Robert" and tells him it is time to go. Samuel is sending him on a Mission.

Samuel escorts Liam to a portal in the mission. He tells "Robert" that he sees in him "a man whose purpose in life is greater than himself."

Samuel and Liam enter the portal. A small group, including Renee, is already gathered there.

The portal activates and the new missionaries disappear.

Aboard the mothership, Reverend Murray reports that each field produces three ounces a day. Processing brings that yield down to an ounce per field.

Zo'or finds this unacceptable. The Reverend assures him that the Church is gathering enough converts to meet the Taelons' needs.

Murray departs.

Da'an arrives. He tells Zo'or that he was wrong to insist that the Companions spend so much time on Earth.

Zo'or tells him that the Fields are necessary to Taelon survival.

Da'an argues that the project should not have been undertaken on Earth. Zo'or reminds him that they need to be close to humans if they hope to defeat the Jaridians.

Augur is frustrated by his inability to locate Liam or Renee. Liam's global is inoperative, and Augur decides to travel to Norton to investigate.

After changing into grey unisex pajamas, Liam and Renee are brought to a vast indoor greenhouse. Throughout the place, "missionaries" tend plants under the watchful eye of armed Volunteers.

Augur stops by the side of the road outside Norton. He can't find any evidence of Church activity in the area.

He orders his AI to run a satellite scan of the area. The AI detects an infrared "hot spot" in the area. Augur goes to investigate.

While Liam and Renee work with the plants, he tells her that according to Da'an, Taelon vegetation needs a temperature of 98 degrees to complete its life cycle. Renee points out that it is much cooler than that in the greenhouse.

They notice Devon and Gina working across the aisle. Liam waves Devon off before the young man blows their cover.

Renee wonders why the Church needs humans to cultivate the plants when machines could do the work more efficiently.

A signal sounds, indicating that it is time for a meal.

At the table, Renee examines a strange two-pronged utensil next to her plate. Samuel blesses the meal.

The missionaries remove the covers from their plates. Each one contains a large, star-shaped Taelon fruit.

The diners use the strange utensil to crack the outer rind. They use a normal fork to eat the pulpy fruit inside.

Renee hesitates, unsure what affect the food will have on them. Liam notices a Volunteer staring at them and tells her to eat.

She digs in.

After dinner, they return to their dormitory.

Devon arrives to see Liam, but Samuel reminds him that he is not allowed to interact with the new arrivals until after their first week there. Devon and Samuel leave.

Renee suffers a strange reaction to the Taelon food. She begins gasping, then doubles over in pain.

Liam calls for help. Others in the dorm begin showing the same symptoms.

A Volunteer holds Renee down on her cot. Another Volunteer sticks a probe into her stomach. She screams.

More Volunteers enter and perform this procedure on the other missionaries.

The probe extracts a sample of blue liquid from Renee's stomach.

The Volunteers turn their attention to Liam.

Augur arrives at the location where his AI detected the hot spot. He runs into the woods.

Renee tells Liam that the substance extracted from them matches what was found in the dead missionary's body.

Liam suddenly realizes that "The plants growing in that dome aren't the Fields, Renee. We are."

Samuel thanks the missionaries on behalf of the Taelons. He tells them that the substance they gestated is called cris.

The Taelons need it to survive on Earth.

Samuel asks "Robert" to help him bring the cris samples to the processing facility.

Augur finds an air duct in the ground. He opens it and makes his way into the ventilation system.

In the processing facility, Liam watches as the liquid cris is exposed to a light source and flash dried into a powder.

Sandoval enters the room. Liam turns his back, hoping to avoid detection.

Augur enters the facility. A Volunteer comes into the room, but Augur knocks out the guard and goes to search for Liam and Renee.

Sandoval and Samuel tour the processing facility. Sandoval tells Samuel that the Taelons would pay anything to ensure a safe supply of cris.

Samuel asks whether Sandoval is looking for a payoff. The agent tells him, "You couldn't afford me."

He suggests something more along the lines of a joint venture.

Sandoval sees Liam standing with his back to him. He seems to recognize him, but he receives a call on his global before he can investigate.

The caller reports a security breach. Sandoval sounds the alarm.

A Volunteer escorts Liam back to his quarters. Augur distracts the Volunteer, and Liam attacks and subdues the guard.

He uses a Volunteer weapon to create a diversion by setting the Taelon plants on fire.

Samuel and Sandoval watch as the plants begin to burn. They order the Volunteers to bring the missionaries to the dome to fight the fire.

On her way to the dome, Renee meets up with Devon and Gina. Liam and Augur find them, and they all head for the nearest exit.

In the course of their escape, Liam shoots a Volunteer.

Sandoval gives his Volunteers the evacuation order.

Samuel prays for a few moments. He tells his fellow disciples to spare themselves before it is too late.

Samuel and his flock use a portal to escape the burning dome.

Liam and his group escape through the ventilation system. They make it out of the exhaust shaft just ahead of a fireball from the exploding dome.

Liam tells Devon and Gina that the Church now thinks they are dead. He asks Augur to arrange new identities for the pair.

Liam confronts Da'an about the Fields project. Da'an argues that with few exceptions, the missionaries chose to serve the Taelons.

Liam threatens to expose the Fields project. He vows to locate and shut down the other cris harvesting facilities around the world.

Da'an tells Liam that the Taelons have found another way to sustain themselves. He refuses to divulge the details, but promises Liam, "We no longer have Missioners harvesting cris on Earth."

Samuel and Sandoval watch as the Fields go about their work within a new dome located on the moon.