Reyes senses she somehow played a role in a series of grisly murders dating back more than a century - in which the victims were all skinned alive.
Inside a church in Novi, Virginia, Dr. Lisa Holland holds a management group for ex-convicts. One of the men, Terry Pruit, tells the others that his life has turned around since he joined the group. But another man, Ed, scoffs at the idea of being able to change.
A short time later, another man in the group, whose name is Victor, tells Holland that he has been experiencing bad dreams in which he sees people being skinned alive. After the session ends, Victor experiences a vision... and sees Ed completely skinned from head to toe.
One night, Reyes informs Doggett about Victor Potts� murder. Doggett enters the morgue, where Scully shows him Potts� body, which has been completely skinned. Reyes then informs Doggett that Potts had a premonition about being skinned alive only hours before he was killed. Both Doggett and Scully sense that something about the case is troubling Reyes.
Later, at a meat packing plant, Terry has a vision... in which he sees Ed skinned alive.
With the assistance of Detective Van Allen, Reyes and Doggett interview Dr. Holland, who remains neutral about whether or not Ed could have killed Victor. After the meeting ends, Doggett realizes that Reyes contacted Holland about the case.
Meanwhile, Scully contacts Dr. Bertram Mueller, a retired medical examiner. Scully questions Mueller about a John Doe case from 1960. The victim had been skinned alive. Mueller informs Scully that the sheriff wanted to keep the incident quiet, as the victim was a drifter. One day, the sheriff put a bullet through his own head. Before Scully leaves, Mueller informs her about other similar deaths.
The agents are summoned to the meat packing plant when Terry�s skinned body is discovered. Doggett is shocked when he realizes Terry is still alive. When Doggett asks Terry to name the perpetrator, Terry tells him is was Ed. Later, Doggett takes Ed into custody. Reyes questions Ed... and tells him that she is seeing the same visions. A short time later, Van Allen sets Ed free, as his girlfriend has vouched for his whereabouts at the time of the murder.
Scully runs a background check on two of the victims murdered in 1960. Both were ex-convicts. One man died on Victor�s birthday, while the other died on Terry�s birthday.
When Reyes instincts tell her that Ed may also be in danger, Doggett races to his house. Unfortunately, Doggett finds Ed�s body, which has been stripped of skin. Reyes tells Doggett that she senses she�s somehow involved in the murders, as if she possesses some kind of memory of it from long ago. She believes the perpetrator wanted to murder the victims� souls. Doggett scoffs at the notion that reincarnation is involved. Reyes then realizes that the rag found stuffed in Ed�s mouth is black from coal dust from a mine.
She and Doggett head to the abandoned mine, where Doggett discovers the skeleton of a sheriff. Reyes makes her way deeper into the tunnel, where she discovers human skins in various stages of decay. A figure armed with a hunting knife steps out of the shadows and grabs hold of Reyes.
The figure, it turns out, is Detective Van Allen. Suddenly, Van Allen runs off down a tunnel. Reyes tells Doggett that Van Allen is avenging his own murder in 1860. All the murders linked to the case have been in groups of four. Reyes believes Van Allen takes his own life so he can restart the cycle again and again.
She phones the church, and warns Dr. Holland that her life may be in danger. This gives Holland a slight edge when Van Allen launches his attack. She runs out of the church, with Van Allen in hot pursuit. Reyes suddenly appears and opens fire, putting a bullet through Van Allen�s chest. Before he dies, Van Allen tells Reyes that, in the past, she has always failed.
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