Event Year: 2004

House and Park treat a patient, Benjamin, who collapsed after making a surprisingly large charity donation, and come to suspect that the altruistic behavior is a symptom of a deeper disorder. When the patient offers to donate an organ for another patient, the doctors must convince Dr. Adams to help them confirm whether Benjamin is in his right mind or not.

A surprising visitor makes House an offer he can't refuse by giving him the opportunity to help the Princeton Plainsboro team treat a unique patient in order to save the life of an organ recipient being treated by Wilson. Although House finds himself back on familiar ground, he quickly realizes that much has changed since he left, and he is forced to work on the case with smart yet timid resident Dr. Chi Park. After several inconclusive treatments and with time running out, House and Dr. Park are left with one last option to examine the patient's medical history that could compromise House's conditional agreement with the hospital. Meanwhile, House makes an effort to reconnect with Wilson despite a cold reception.

House is serving out a lengthy prison sentence for his various misdeeds, including his trip outside the country in an attempt to escape responsibility. Entirely cut off from his old life, House determines his current problems are the result of his inability to deal with people. Feeling he will never be able to practice medicine again, he plans instead to go back to university to earn a doctorate in physics – a field that will all but assure his isolation from other human beings.

Over the years, during the course of performing autopsies at Princeton-Plainsboro, Dr. Peter Treiber has often identified mistakes made by physicians that caused the patient's death. These observations have left him questioning the skills of nearly all the doctors on staff… all, that is, except House. When he falls ill, he demands that only House make medical decisions concerning his care. Unfortunately, House and Wilson have taken off on an impromptu road trip without telling anyone, leaving the team to fend alone and lie to their patient to make him believe that House is the guy calling all the shots.