The episode opens up with Zuko and Iroh in a village street begging for money. Zuko refuses to gravel, trying to keep grasp of what dignity he has left while Iroh has more willing accepted their new lot in life. A swordsman approaches Iroh and has him sing for a coin. As Iroh sings the swordsman swings his blades at Iroh’s feet to have him “dance.” As the swordsman leaves, Zuko is angered and humiliated by his uncle’s degrade.
Meanwhile Aang, Katara, and Sokka are seeking an Earthbending teacher for Aang they fly over a swamp. Aang thinks the swamp is calling to him but due to the reluctance of his friends agrees to leave. Suddenly a tornado appears, swallowing everyone. Aang uses Airbending to free them. Unfortunately he separates humans and animals into two separate groups.
The human group begins looking for Momo and Appa. Aang and Katara are weary of the environment, sensing something ominous about it. Sokka uses his machete to hack through the swamp, clearing a path. He gets annoyed at his sister and friend’s warnings. Sokka states there is nothing out of the ordinary about the place.
With the Momo and Appa the two animals are also looking for the other members of their group. Unknown to the flying bison and winged lemur natives of the swamp are hunting them for dinner.
Aang, Katara, and Sokka make camp for the night. While they are asleep a swamp monster attacks them, which ends in a further separation of the group. Alone in the swamp each person experiences a vision of a person. For Katara she sees her mother, and momentarily believes she has returned. Sokka envisions Yue in spirit form who says hauntingly to him “You didn’t protect me.” Sokka refuses to believe what he witnesses, clinging to the belief there’s a logical explanation. Aang spots a laughing young girl and a flying pig in the swamp. It’s no one he recognizes. He calls out to her but she runs away. Aang begins to chase after her.
Returning to Momo and Appa, the two animals are confronted by the swamp-dwelling hunters Tho, Due, and their brethren in canoes. Tho attempts coaxing the animals to him but unaware they understand human speech mentions eating them, Appa and Momo flee. Due shouts angrily at Tho for his insolence, Tho defends himself by saying how was he to know. To catch up with Appa and Momo Tho begins Bending the water around his canoe causing it to sped forward rapidly after the animals.
Aang is seen still chasing the girl. Eventually when he thinks he corners her it turns out to be Katara. Sokka drops in (literally). Each confesses their encounters. Aang and Katara wonder how the swamp is doing everything but Sokka continues to insist nothing is out of the ordinary when a giant swamp monster attacks them. It takes some time but they are able to defeat it thanks to a finishing move by Katara. The swamp monster turns out to be a Waterbender who was controlling the water in the plants surrounding his body.
They demand to know who the Waterbender is, Sokka reveals that Aang is the Avatar and stuff like this happens “a lot.” The Waterbender says his name his Hue. He reveals the reason why he attacked them was that he was protecting the swamp which Sokka was harming. He takes the three friends to the roots of an enormous tree, the heart of the swamp. Hue’s story is that he achieved enlightenment under this tree, and how the swamp is the roots of the tree spreading for miles. He says that everything is connected, how time and death are only illusions, and that the swamp shows us our dead loved ones are not as gone as we think they are. Aang asks about the girl he saw, stating it was no one he knew but eventually he figures out the girl is someone he will meet. Aang touches the tree, connecting to the swamp. Far away he sees Appa and Momo being chased. Aang, Katara, and Sokka then rush to the animals’ aid. When they finally arrive Aang and Katara use Waterbending against Due and Tho but the swamp-dwellers use Waterbending themselves. Upon this discovery the fighting stops. Tho and Due unite with Hue who had followed the gang showing the Waterbenders know each other.
The scene switches to Aang, Katara, and Sokka sitting around a fire in the swamp-dwellers’ camp. Aang and Katara continue to wonder about the swamp but Sokka is steadfast that there is nothing out of the ordinary. The next moment shows a bird perched on a root; a vine rises from the ground then lashes out at the bird making it to take off. Sokka doesn’t seem to be as right as he thinks he is.
The last scene shows the swordsman who mistreated Iroh and Zuko in a dark alley way. He senses someone there. The man pulls out his blades and demands that the person show themselves. Hands grab his wrist making him release the blades. He’s thrown into a stack of crates. The culprit is the Blue Spirit.
