Xena (Lucy Lawless) gallops into a small village and confronts Hades (Erik Thomson) as to why she did not find Gabrielle in the Underworld. But Hades insists that Gabrielle did not to come to him. Remembering that Gabrielle was initiated as an Amazon princess, Xena surmises that she went to a different Land of the Dead. Xena leaves Argo behind and gallops away on another horse, hearing Gabrielle's voice in the wind. The next day, Xena enters a cave and begins to recall bitter memories. She thinks back to a night in her dark past when she was with Borias (Marton Csokas). As he tries to convince her of the wisdom of an alliance with the Northern Amazons, a warrior enters with Alti (Claire Stansfield), a gnarled old shamaness, and Anokin (Charlotte Saunders), Alti's beautiful, young apprentice. Alti explains how she can help Xena defeat the Amazons since she was once an Amazon herself. Unimpressed, Borias is quick to dismiss Alti, but when the shamaness announces that Xena is pregnant, Xena is intrigued because she hasn't yet told anyone.
As Xena continues her trek, she comes across a woman who is impaled on a sapling. Xena is then approached by a Siberian warrior and the two begin to battle. More warriors engage, but they are no match for the warrior princess. After they retreat, Xena builds a funeral pyre for the young woman and as she stands over the burning corpse, she lets out a heartrending wail. As Xena continues to mourn, a group of young women emerges from the rough, dragging a wounded Siberian warrior. One of them, Yakut (Kate Elliot), figures they have nothing to fear since Xena fought their enemy. But Otere (Sheeri Rappaport) has heard this wailing before. She tells the others how Xena and Borias destroyed her village when she was a young girl. But when Xena tried to kill her, Borias saved her. The girls watch as Xena approaches her horse with a knife. Later that night, Xena does a frantic dance as she drinks the horse's blood. When she collapses, a series of Xena spirits representing different stages of her life rise from her body to form one collective Xena spirit, and she enters the Land of the Dead.
As Xena makes her way across the barren landscape, she remembers how Alti taught her to cross over and promised to make her the Destroyer of Nations. But Xena is shaken from her thoughts when she crests a hill and sees Cyane, Queen of the Northern Amazons (Vicky Pratt). Cyane, not happy to Xena, tells her that Alti has cursed the Northern Amazons to wander the Land of the Dead forever. While Xena explains she is looking for Gabrielle, she begins to shake as a reaction to Yakut and Otere moving her corporeal body. Yakut wants to kill Xena, but Otere insists that their destiny lies with her. She explains that when she was a child, Alti told Xena to kill her, for one day she would take Xena's powers away. Borias intervened, but Otere believes that Xena wouldn't have killed her anyway. Meanwhile, in the Land of the Dead, Cyanne tells Xena she will find Gabrielle at the Gate to Eternity. As Xena walks to the Gate, she realizes that it was Gabrielle who gave her the strength to live her life to help others. Xena returns to the Northern Amazons and tells Cyane that she is going to remove Alti's curse and help reestablish the Northern Amazon nation.
Suddenly, Xena returns to her corporeal body and recognizes Otere. Xena sends the wounded Siberian warrior to warn Alti of her arrival. But the young Northern Amazons know that Alti will send the Berserker, the greatest fighter in the land, to destroy them. Ready for a challenge, Xena leads the group of young women through the forest where they are attacked by Alti's warriors. The battle commences and Xena and the young Amazons defeat the warriors. Just when Xena thinks she has conquered the Berserker, a formidable warrior appears. Xena and the Berserker immediately go head to head. But this time the fight is different. She feels not only the pain from this present fight, but also the pain from past battles. Suddenly, Xena falls to the ground, grabbing her legs. In her mind, she is reliving the time when her legs were broken by the Romans. Helpless, Xena lies crippled on the ground as the Berserker charges towards her with a raised axe. Xena manages to break the trance for long enough to crawl to a fallen warrior's horse. With sheer determination, Xena pulls herself onto the horse and the battle resumes. When the Berserker jumps onto Xena's steed, she plunges her sword into his heart, killing him. Now that the Berserker is dead, the trance should be lifted, but her legs still feel as if they're broken. Suddenly, Xena charges the Berserker's horse and Alti's spirit leaves the steed. When Alti's spirit disappears, Xena's legs return to normal.
Guest Starring: Marton Csokas (Borais), Claire Stansfield (Alti), Sheeri Rappaport (Otere), Vicky Pratt (Cyane), Erik Thomson (Hades), Kate Elliot (Yakut), Charlotte Saunders (Anokin), Jay Saussey (Young Woman), Sanelle Vosloo (Young Otere), Barry Duffield (Koryak), Ben Baker (Chalcis), Barret Irwin (Warrior)
Starring: Lucy Lawless as Xena
Teleplay by R.J. Stewart
Story by Rob Tapert & R.J. Stewart
Directed by T.J. Scott