When Ellie Shore (Cynthia Nixon - "Sex and the City"), a young mother of three, is brought in with symptoms of a potentially fatal stroke, Kovac and Sam fight the odds to save her life. Knowing that a controversial surgical procedure is his wife's only chance at a full recovery, Ellie's husband must make the unenviable decision to risk her life in order to save it. Meanwhile, Neela and Ray discover a dark secret when three ostensibly neglected children show up in the emergency room. And Carter is in the midst of a love triangle when Wendall's (recurring guest star Mädchen Amick) professions of love force him to either cut ties to his ex-girlfriend in Africa or lose Wendall.