Detective Sharon Lazard discovers an eight year old girl lost and shivering outside a boarded up storefront. Lazard transports the girl to the precinct where she is questioned by Detective Barbala. During the course of the interview, Barbala is suddenly hurled out a window. He falls six stories to his death. Due to the mysterious nature of the death, Mulder and Scully are called to the scene.

Lazard is convinced that Barbala was alone with Michelle when the tragedy occurred. She is also convinced that Barbala did not commit suicide. Michelle tells the agents that another man was present in the room when Barbala died. The description Michelle provides matches the likeness of Officer Charlie Morris-who died nine years earlier.

The agents question Morris' former partner, Tony Fiore, who states that Morris was murdered by a gang after a drug deal soured. In reality, Fiore and an insurance salesman named Len Felder plotted to kill Morris as part of an insurance scam. When Felder disembarks from a city bus, his scarf becomes caught in the vehicle's door. As the bus continues its journey, Felder is dragged to his death. Michelle, a passenger aboard the bus, stares at Felder's motionless body.

After further investigation, the agents piece together the connection between the dead men and the insurance scam. They question Tony's wife Anita, who is concerned for her husband's safety because he did not return home from work. During the course of the interview, Anita likens the incident to the disappearance of her first husband-Charlie Morris. Scully and Mulder become intrigued by origami animals found throughout the home, figures similar to those folded by Michelle. Mulder concludes that Michelle is the reincarnation of Charlie Morris, who is avenging his murder by killing the participants. Michelle is placed under hypnosis, but when Charlie's spirit begins to relive the murder, Michelle's mother Cynthia halts the experiment.

A video tape of the session is analyzed using sophisticated equipment. It reveals an image of a man in a diving suit. Autopsy reports indicate that Morris drowned, then his body was beaten to cover up the truth. Mulder concludes that Morris was drowned in his own fish tank, and the last image he saw was that of the deep sea diver-aerator. The agents rush to Tony Fiore's house. Inside, Michelle uses her psychokinetic powers to hurl objects at Tony with great force. Mulder and Scully gain entrance to the home and calm Michelle, whose powers subside with her anger. Fiore is tried and convicted of Morris' murder. Michelle's life returns to normal.