Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) learns that she has a cancerous tumor between her sinus and cerebrum. She initially tells only Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) of the diagnosis, and is determined to continue to work. The agents head to Allentown, Pennsylvania, to see Betsy Hagopian, a Mutual UFO Network member who was previously discovered to be suffering from similar symptoms. The agents learn that Betsy has died, yet find someone using her phone line. They trace the call to Kurt Crawford (David Lovgren), a fellow MUFON member. Crawford tells them that all but one of the MUFON members Scully previously met have died of cancer. Scully is skeptical of Mulder and Crawford's claims that a government conspiracy and her abduction are behind her illness.