When a waitress with a perfect memory suffers temporary paralysis, her older sister visits her in the hospital, which triggers high stress levels and even more health complications.

The team treats a performance artist (Shohreh Aghdashloo) who deliberately made herself ill with the aim of turning the diagnostics department into her new masterpiece, as House must decide which of her symptoms are real, and which are self-inflicted. As the case progresses, House vows to make changes in his life, but remains rooted in old habits. After the case is over, House finally deals with his anger over the breakup and lashes out by driving through Cuddy's dining room and escaping to a beach.

House and his team treat an Alzheimer's patient who vomits blood and flies into violent rages. Meanwhile, when Wilson tells House about a patient who has never had sex with her husband of 10 years, claiming A-sexuality, House makes a wager with him that there has to be an underlying cause.

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.