The Orville has been sent to observe the stellar incineration of the last of eleven planets in a star system. Bortus asks to leave the bridge early to end his shift because he isn't feeling well. After he leaves, Mercer mentions to Grayson that this is a new pattern of behavior.

As he leaves the bridge, Bortus is contacted by his husband, Klyden, who asks when he'll be home. Bortus lies and says that he is working late again. He enters a simulator deck and begins a program wherein he meets with a scantily-clad Moclan by a campfire and they kiss.

Bortus returns to his quarters and climbs into bed with Klyden. They argue about his long work hours and then Bortus rebuffs Klyden's advances.

At breakfast, in front of their child Topa, the argument resumes and Bortus leaves to start his shift on the bridge. Klyden insists that Bortus eat dinner with them.

As the planet continues to be broken down by its sun's supernova process, Isaac detects deposits of dysonium under the planet's crust. The crew forms a plan to extract the ore after the planet is destroyed. 

Bortus asks to leave early again and gives Klyden as the reason. Mercer and Grayson confer briefly about his behavior. 

On his way back to his quarters, Bortus diverts to the simulator deck and begins another program, this time one involving a dungeon where his Moclan lover is the guard.

He returns to Klyden late, having missed the meal and ruined Klyden's hopes for an evening of reconciliation. Bortus lies again and refuses to discuss the issues, insisting he needs to sleep. He awakens to find Klyden standing over him and then Klyden stabs him through the chest with a knife.

Dr. Finn is working frantically in sickbay to save Bortus. She orders two bouts of defibrillation to restart his heart. Mercer and Grayson attend to get information on the situation. When Bortus revives, he tells Dr. Finn she shouldn't have saved him. Mercer informs him that Klyden is in the brig for trying to kill him but Bortus says that this was a Moclan divorce.

Mercer confers with the Admiral regarding the situation. He and Grayson share a drink to relieve the stress of navigating Moclan culture.

Isaac contacts Mercer and informs him that the dysonium he detected is not naturally occurring. He explains that there was probably an ancient underground civilization. Mercer asks if they could investigate it but Isaac shoots down the idea.

Kitan escorts Bortus and Klyden into Mercer's ready room. Bortus has insisted on leaving sickbay despite Dr. Finn's protests. Mercer states that Klyden will not be prosecuted but he must disembark. Both Klyden and Bortus protest, insisting that they will make their marriage work. Mercer relents but relieves Bortus of his duties and orders them both to undergo daily couple's counseling with Dr. Finn.

The first session with Dr. Finn seems to go well but Bortus continues with the lie that he has been working long hours.

As they leave, Klyden is happy about their homework and Bortus arranges to meet him for dinner to discuss their fun activities. He lies about going to brief the Captain and heads for the simulator again.

In the simulator, Bortus is playing a patient to a Moclan doctor. As the doctor begins kissing him, Bortus ends the simulation. He goes to engineering and tracks down Lt. Unk, who is of a non-terrestrial species with a reputation for advanced pornographic simulations. He requests a Moclan multi-partner simulation. 

On the bridge, Isaac is informing Mercer, Grayson, and LaMarr that the civilization is still active. Kitan opens a hailing channel and they make contact with the Nyxians. There are 75 individuals left. The bridge team forms a plan to shuttle them out.

Bortus is waiting for Lt. Unk. He gets the program and a simulation filled with Moclans begins.

Malloy and LaMarr hit the mess hall for pizza but the synthesizer produces something inedible.

Bortus is draped in simulation Moclans when Klyden enters the simulator deck. He gets Bortus' attention and storms out.

Dr. Finn discusses porn addiction with Bortus in front of Klyden. She asks when the compulsion to visit the simulator began and Bortus realizes that it began shortly after Topa's gender change procedure. He tells Klyden that he resents that Klyden didn't fight to let Topa be female.

LaMarr is in the shuttle with Dann trying to make it ready for the evacuation. Mercer tries to make contact with the survivors again but the transmission glitches out. When Isaac examines the system, he discovers that both the synthesizer glitch and this communication glitch have been caused by a computer virus uploaded with Bortus' illicit porn. Mercer and Grayson enter the simulator to investigate and are welcomed to the Cove of Pleasure.

Mercer holds an officers' meeting. Isaac says he has a program to eradicate the virus. LaMarr and Dr. Finn enter. The shuttle is ready but the landing party will be exposed to a lot of radiation when they disembark to help evacuate the survivors. Only Isaac and Bortus stand a chance of not being killed by the radiation.

Isaac tries to discuss sexual behaviors with Bortus as they pilot the shuttle to the planet. Bortus does not want to discuss his porn addiction. They land and meet the Nyxians, many of whom are children. On the ship, the virus has spread and affected Engineering and Malloy reports that the planet is about to break up.

On the planet, Isaac relays the information that they will only be able to take one group of thirty Nyxians and the rest will not be saved.

LaMarr and Dann enter Bortus' porn program to try to isolate the virus source. The simulated Moclans try to entice them. 

The Nyxians use a random lottery and choose thirty to be evacuated. Bortus watches as the First Minister bids her husband and child good-bye, choosing to stay and die with the forty-four who were not drawn in the lottery.

Once the shuttle has docked with The Orville, Mercer orders Malloy to move them out to a wide orbit but the helm isn't responding and the ship is being pulled into the star.

Isaac helps LaMarr on the simulator deck and manages to counter the virus in the nick of time while the Cove of Pleasure Moclans try to engage sexually with him.

After Bortus is given a clean bill of health, Mercer and Grayson talk with him. He tries to tender his resignation but Mercer rejects that and Grayson tells him he's on active duty in the morning.

Bortus returns to his quarters and tells Klyden that he's been changed. He isn't sure he'll ever be able to accept what they did to Topa but he wants them to be a family.