We start of with a battle, in Serenity Valley. Mal & Zoe are fighting against what are called the Alliance, and Mal & Zoe are the Independents. But after a valiant attempt from Mal, they don't win the battle. Six years later Mal, Zoe & Jayne are in space salvaging cargo from an empty ship. Inside the pilot, Wash, is keeping watch, but actually playing with dinosaurs. Something comes up on the radar, it's an Alliance Cruiser who's spotted them. They quickly try and get the cargo into the ship. While they do that Wash launches the "cry baby", a fake ship sending out a distress signal a few kilometres away. This gives Mal & co enough time to get the cargo onboard and Wash to fly them away. The ship and its crew are heading to Persephone to meet someone called Badger to give the cargo to. Also there, Mal's decided, to pick up some passengers. Just to keep them flying. At Persephone the deal with Badger goes pear shaped and Badger refuses to take the cargo. Why? Because in the news there had been a case where a firefly class transport ship had been seen fleeing the area, but it hadn't named Mal's vessel. And also the fact that the cargo is branded. They had back to the ship trying to think of somewhere else they can get rid of their cargo. Meanwhile at the docks Kaylee's doing her best to bring in passengers. A Shepherd strolls past looking at the boat. Kaylee's adamant that he's going to be going on their ship. Turns out he does. When Mal, Zoe & Jayne return from seeing Badger they're on their way again. With some new passenger, Shepherd Book, Dr. Simon Tam, and his mysteriously large piece of cargo, and Dobson.

Onboard they set out the rules for the passengers and get them set up in their quarters. Mal weighs over who he wants to sell his cargo to, and in time chooses Patience on Whitefall. A woman who has previously shot Mal, though that doesn't seem to be stopping Mal from wanting to sell to her. On the bridge Wash intercepts a signal, someone onboard is hailing an Alliance Cruiser. They've got themselves a mole. While Mal tries to find the mole, he suspects Simon and punches him in the cargo bay. But it turns out to be Dobson, which the good Shepherd points out. Dobson's holding a gun to Simon & Mal, but to Mal's relief all he wants is Simon. Mal tries to persuade Dobson to put the gun down, but the situation escalates and a gunshot is fired. Kaylee's the random bystander to get shot, in the stomach. The Alliance Cruiser's getting nearer and as Simon pleads with Mal to get him to run, Mal just wants to give Simon up to the Alliance. But with some persuasion from Inara, and the fact that only Simon will be able to operate on Kaylee and save her. So Mal gives the order to Wash to run. Just as Simon has got Kaylee stitched up to the best he can, and pretty much stabilized, Mal's curious as to what Simon's carting around in the large steel box of his. As Jayne holds Simon back Mal opens the box and is more than surprised at the contents.

Inside is a naked girl. Mal steps back and Simon breaks free. She screams and climbs out, everyone's there and looking very surprised. As Simon tries to console this girl, Mal asks who this is. Simon tells them, it's his sister. Later on in the kitchen Simon explains his sister, River. She was a government run boarding school for the gifted, well more than gifted. But it wasn't what it seemed and River sent messages to get Simon to get her out of there. Which he managed to do with some help. Got her cryogenically frozen and sent to Persephone. Mal decides to finish the job, even though the Alliance may be on their tail and then drop River & Simon off at Whitefall once they've finished their job. Mal needs to find out exactly how much the Alliance know about Simon, so he gives that job to Jayne, to get it out of Dobson. Turns out it's rather easy to get the information out of Dobson, too easy for Jayne. The Alliance don't know that much.

Meanwhile on the bridge Wash, Zoe & Mal notice a ship. It's not Alliance, it's worse. It's reavers. Zoe tells Simon about reavers, all he's heard are campfire tales. Men who's gone to the edge of the galaxy and don't resemble anything human anymore. The crew are hoping that they aren't hungry at the moment. Luckily the reavers' ship just flies by, they don't appear to be hungry. Once they've passed the reavers Mal goes to see Kaylee who appears to be doing better, now she's awake. As she talks she slowly slips back to sleep. Mal meets Simon just outside Inara's shuttle, he tells her that Kaylee's dead. Simon rushes to the medical area to find Kaylee up and awake. On the bridge Jayne, Mal, Zoe & Wash are having a good laugh at the expense of Simon. The ship gets hailed, it's Patience. She doesn't seem to care that the cargo's branded and is up for the deal. Which leads them all to think that Patience is going to shoot Mal again. 

They land on Whitefall in the are chosen by Patience. Looks like a good place for an ambush. Mal gets Jayne to hide out at the top of the valley while Zoe and Mal go and wait for Patience. Meanwhile onboard Shepherd Book tries to help the law man, Dobson out, only Dobson hits him in the face with something hard and gets loose. By this time Patience has arrived, with some calvary, and met with Mal & Zoe. Patience seems happy with the sample cargo that he's given her, but doesn't want to part with her money. Onboard Serenity Dobson's grabbed River and is heading out of the ship with her. Simon goes to help her sister and jumps down onto Dobson and both men get knocked a bit sideways. Simon holds a gun to Dobson's head but he's reluctant to pull the trigger. During Mal's meeting with Patience, it's turned into a gunfight. Jayne's positioned himself where Patience's sniper was positioned. Mal, Zoe & Jayne manage to get rid of all of Patience men, leaving Patience alone. Patience gives Mal the money and they're off. Meanwhile onboard Wash has spotted something, reavers. As he powers up the ship Dobson's still there and Mal & company are fighting hard to get back on time. As soon as Mal's onboard he shoots Dobson dead and they throw his body off the boat.

They still have the reavers on their tale. Wash pulls an old trick and manages to out maneuver them. Onboard Book tells his worries about being on Serenity with Inara, and Inara tries to reassure him. And Simon is offered a a job, being part of the crew onboard Serenity. After all she does need a medic. Simon's confused but happy to take the offer.

Jayne, Mal & Zoe are in a bar on some dusty planet. It's the anniversary for unification, though Mal's not in the celebrating mood. But he is in the bar fighting mood. All three are ceremoniously thrown out of the bar. Things are about to get really ugly when Mal calls in to Wash and Serenity appears from behind the three crew members. From inside Wash threatens the bar fighters saying that the ship will blow them away with its weapons. Needless to say, they back away. Onboard River's had a nightmare of wherever she was, she's lying the the infirmary. Mal heads over to the engine room only to find it in a complete mess and with Kaylee no where in sight. Kaylee's having her hair brushed by Inara in her shuttle. When Mal finds her there he's less than happy. As Kaylee goes off to do her job Mal tells Inara what their next job is. On a skyplex with a guy called Niska. Not sure if they'd be clients for her there. Later Mal, Zoe and Jayne go to meet Niska on his skyplex. They're followed into Niska's office by a pair of goons. Niska tells them of a job, on a train. Some cargo which they have to get, yet doesn't tell them what's in the cargo. At the end of their meeting he gives them an incentive to get the job down. A man in the room next to Niska's, tied to the ceiling, being tortured to his death. 

Somewhere on a train Mal & Zoe are sitting in normal clothes. They're due to hit Paradiso in twenty minutes, and the foothills in five. They head down the carriage and step onto the next carriage and stop and stare. It's a carriage full of feds. Onboard Serenity Inara & Book are in the kitchen discussing the latest caper. Book's feeling rather useless onboard the ship. On the train Mal & Zoe make their way quietly and calmly passed the feds. Zoe's concerned about why there are so many feds there, but Mal just insists on getting the job done. Onboard Serenity Jayne's getting prepared for the job. Kaylee fills in to Simon what they're doing, Simon's perplexed as ever. Jayne's getting prepared to be lowered out of the bottom of Serenity and to land on the train with a hook to get the cargo onboard. Mal & Zoe make it to the cargo area of the train and Zoe finds the cargo. They get set up and Jayne comes in from above. But things go pear shaped as they invariably do. As Jayne gets hoiseted up with Mal & Zoe on the cargo as well, a fed comes in and sees. Shooting begins and only Jayne can go up with the cargo. He gets away safely. Mal and Zoe make their way through the train and get off safely, without getting caught at Paradiso. There they find out that the cargo was in fact medical supplies for a town who is in dire need for them. 

Meanwhile Serenity has parked itself nearby, but not at the designated rendezvous point. Simon stitches up an injured Jayne who's adamant that they move to where they have to be. But the rest of the crew don't want to go anywhere, Wash especially wants to go and get his wife back. They decide to wait for a bit and then see what happens. Meanwhile at Paradiso Mal & Zoe are being questioned by the local sheriff. They're using a cover story of being newly weds on their way to looking for a job in Paradiso. Somehow their story checks out with the sheriff and he's happy to let them sit there for a while longer. Back onboard Serenity Jayne's getting shifty, mostly because he knows what will happen to them if they don't come through on Niska's plan. But seems Jayne's no longer in charge as he slumps to the floor. Simon doped him up while he was treating him. They get a plan together. Inara goes to collect Mal and Zoe, claiming that Mal is in her debt for a few years. They get away clean and when back Mal and Zoe decide to return the cargo. They do return it, only they bump into the sheriff on their way. But he doesn't take them in, just takes the cargo. Back at Serenity Niska's men have come. They don't want the money back and wanted the job done. Mal persuades them to take the money back, by chucking one of the men into a moving engine and killing him.

In an Alliance Cruiser a couple of men are questioning an officer, about River.

In the cargo room the crew are playing a ball game of sorts. River, Simon and Inara are watching from above. As they're playing the proximity alert goes off. Wash goes to check it out while the game continues. But not for long. It's a ship that set off the alert. Wash tries hailing the ship but there's no one home, River makes a comment about their being ghosts. It's a cargo hauler retro fitted to carry passengers. They decide to have a look on the ship, see if anyone's hurt or needs help. And also see if there's any cargo worth taking. Mal & Zoe go on the mystery ship first, just to scope things out. What they find stuns them. There's nothing there. No people, no sign of a struggle, but they do find a personal entry in the ship's log. On Serenity Jayne tells Simon to grab his stuff and to get kitted out, he's heading to the ghost ship with Jayne. Simon gets on the other ship, all kitted out in a suit, only it's a joke. There's no need for it, Jayne's idea. In the ship's personal log it says that the lifeboat was launched a week ago. Wash, Jayne, Zoe, Mal, Simon & Kaylee all set about picking the bones of the ship, see if there's anything they can salvage.

As Mal & Zoe go around the ship they find a bucket load of supplies. Mal says to get this stuff and leave the rest. As They go about getting this stuff Zoe mentions that not all the families would have been able to escape on the one lifeboat. Mal says they didn't escape. Mal orders everyone to get what they can and get off the ship. Jayne gets attacked in the galley. The crew get there only to find a rather small looking man, afraid and slightly out of his mind. Mal knocks him out in order to get him back to Serenity and patched up. Jayne immediately thinks this one survivor is in fact the killer of the rest of the passengers. As the lone survivor recoups Mal explains why no one is to go near him. The ship got her by Reavers. But Mal still insists on getting what they can off the other ship before they try and high tail it out of there before the Reavers come back, if they do. Just as they're ready to leave Kaylee finds a booby trap attached to the other ship, which the Reavers left. If Serenity tries to detach from the ship they'll both explode. Kaylee gets to work to try and bypass the booby trap. The proximity alarm goes off. The crew think it's the Reavers back, but it's not it's an Alliance cruiser.

Commander Harken orders everyone on board and starts a search of Serenity. The feds also bring aboard the survivor. Onboard each crew is questioned about who they are and what they're doing. Mal tries to convince the commander to destroy the other ship, for their benefit, but the commander doesn't want to destroy his evidence. The doctors on the Alliance cruiser are working on the survivor, but things get violent. Blood is splattered. Mal tries to explain to Harken about Reavers, but Harken doesn't believe anything he's saying. Meanwhile Serenity's getting searched and River & Simon are no where insight, on the ship, but they're outside, in suits. Just as the feds leave they get back onboard. Harken gets a visit from a soldier. It's the survivor. Harken orders Mal to the brig and is going to auction Serenity. But Mal tells him he knows a way of finding the survivor, he knows where to look. Mal leads the troops and Harken back onboard Serenity. He sees River & Simon and leads the feds away from them. Suddenly they're all attacked, by the lone survivor. He's massacred himself and made to look like a Reaver. He's about to kill Harken when Mal saves his life.

The cargo which Mal and co. did take was taken back from them, but they still have Serenity and are off, back flying.

Mal, Jayne & Inara are in a bar on some planet. Mal's getting himself and the crew a job there and Inara's enjoying the different scenery. A bar fights gets started by Mal and all they can do is leave. They fly off and leave Santo and head for familiar ground, Persephone. In Inara's shuttle she's choosing clients in time for Serenity's set down on Persephone. She goes to Atherton Wing, who's inviting her to a ball, Inara agrees to accompany him. Mal enters and Inara and him have their usual conversation concerning Atherton and her business for that night. They land in Persephone, walking along a dusty and busy street. Kaylee sees a dress in a window she'd love to buy and wear, though Mal offends Kaylee about it. Kaylee's none too happy, nor is Zoe for that. Zoe, Wash and Kaylee leave on their quad bike and Mal and Jayne go to see Badger. At Badger's Mal & Jayne are treated a mite better than they have been previously, which immediately gets Mal a little suspicious. There's a local, Warrick Harrow, who wants some property of his sold off planet. Harrow needs a smuggler. He won't deal with Badger alone, he's got a dislike to him, but Badger's willing to cut Mal and his crew in on the deal. Badger tells Mal where he can meet Harrow and arrange the arrangements.

In a grand ballroom, a porter is announcing each guest as they arrive there. Inara and Atherton are there in a few moments. On Serenity in the engine room Mal goes to see Kaylee. at first she doesn't want to speak to him, but turns out he has a job for her. In the ballroom Atherton's offered something to Inara. The opportunity to live on Persephone as his personal companion. Inara's taken aback by the offer, but does not say yes or no. Just as the two are talking the porter announces a familiar name to Inara's ear, it's Kaylee. Kaylee walks into the ballroom wearing the dress she was admiring earlier that day. On her arm is a rather trussed up Mal. Kaylee clearly seems more interested in the buffet table than finding Harrow, so Mal lets her do that. On Serenity Simon, Book & Jayne are playing cards, betting on who has to do which chores. Jayne's cheating while the other two's backs are turned. River comes in, clearly worse than she's been for a while. Simon tries to calm her down. In Wash & Zoe's quarters the couple are enjoying some post-coital bliss, but seems Wash wants more. Zoe's about to drift off to sleep, while Wash jokes about Jayne becoming in charge of the ship while Zoe just lies there.

Back in the ballroom Kaylee's enjoying herself, until she's ridiculed by some regular female ball goers. But they're shooed away by an elderly and much nicer man, Murphy. Meanwhile Mal's found Warrick Harrow. He tentatively asks him about some cargo he needs transporting but Harrow plays it that he doesn't know what he's talking about. Atherton and Inara join Harrow & Mal, Atherton knows Harrow from a club they both go to. Inara's somewhat less than pleased that Mal's there. Mal asks Inara for her dance and takes her off on the dance floor. Elsewhere Kaylee's wowing a group of gentlemen with her knowledge of engines. Still she's by the buffet table. Back to Mal and Inara and things are looking like they're about to get a little out of hand. Atherton's clearly not liking the idea of Mal dancing with Inara and "claims" her back. Mal doesn't like the way Atherton's talking, so does the one thing he knows best, he punches him. This was seen as a challenge and a duel is set for the following morning, a sword fight.

Harrows explains to a confused Mal and also tells him that he's going to give the job to him. Atherton and Inara leave, though Inara's slow at leaving, which adds to Atherton's anger. News gets to Serenity and Badger and some louts are there to make sure that none of the crew leave to help the captain get out of his tight spot. Jayne wants to go on the offensive, but they have one thing stopping him, Kaylee. Back on the planet Mal's being put up in one of Atherton's many rooms. Inara comes in and tries to teach him a few things about sword fighting, but he's slow to learn anything. He tries to talk Inara out of staying with Atherton on the planet, telling her it's obvious that he doesn't know the first thing about her. She quietly leaves back to Atherton. Back on Serenity the crew decide that they need something to divert Badger and his men's attention. Just then River does that job, only the rest of the crew weren't ready for anything. The next morning Atherton and Mal are ready for their duel. At first it looks like Atherton's just toying with Mal and Mal falls for it and gets stabbed in the stomach. Though somehow Mal manages to get the upper hand the only way he knows how to. Harrow tells Mal that once Atherton is down he has to be killed, only Mal doesn't want to stoop to that leve. Instead opts to punch him. Atherton tells Inara if she goes she won't get another client, anywhere. But Inara informs him that it's the other way around, he'll be black listed and won't be able to get a companion, ever.

Just as the crew get a plan together Mal returns and Badger and his men leave. Simon sees to Mal's wounds and Mal informs them that they have the job. Turns out the property to be delivered is cattle.

At the Tam Estate 11 years ago a young River and Simon are discussing homework, until River turns the topic onto war. Their father enters and tells them some good news. After which he asks they both leave and let him have some alone quiet time. On Serenity in present day River's having a minor fit. She's babbling like she does and demands that Simon does no more of her tests that day and have no more shots. He complies, calmly. Mal's there in a few moments just as River storms away. Tells Simon to calm River down otherwise the cattle they're hauling could get a little restless and rock the boat. Serenity lands on a planet's surface and in the bushes are three men watching it land. The cattle are herded out into a make shift pen for them until the buyers get there. River's talking to the cattle, after previously not going near them on the ship. Mal suggests to Simon that he go for a walk and take River just while he gets his job done, he doesn't want River around causing her usual ruckus. Meanwhile in a shop on the planet Inara and Kaylee are looking at trinkets. Kaylee picks something up and asks for Inara's approval. She's trying to pick something out for Simon. Moments later Simon and River enter. Simon does his best to control River and what she picks up. He sees what Kaylee previously picked up and ridicules it, which hurts Kaylee. Both her and Inara leave, leaving Simon alone. River's wandered off too.

At Serenity the buyers are there, though they seem a bit jumpy and heads to their guns awfully quickly. Meanwhile Simon's still trying to find River. he eventually finds her in the middle of some kind of dance some of the locals are doing. She joins in without a thought. Back at Serenity a gun fight has broken out and Book gets shot. The exact moment he gets shot River stops and screams, looking confused. Then also Simon gets kidnapped. At Serenity some law men arrive and take the men who started the gun fight away leaving Mal and his money. But Book's down on the floor with a chest wound. They get Book to the ship only they can't find Simon, Kaylee's sent to look for him. Meanwhile Simon's getting led somewhere, somewhere before dark. Flashback to when River was in the academy she was at. Simon's showing his parents the coded letters that he's been receiving from River, only they don't believe him and just think he's missing his sister and tell him to get on with his life. Back to the present time and River seems to have followed Simon in what she thought was a game of hide and seek. On Serenity Kaylee tells Mal she couldn't find Simon. Mal makes the decision of leaving Simon and River behind to go and find help for Book. 

Inara tries to convince Mal to go to Alliance medical facilities, but he's not having any of that. Meanwhile on the planet Simon and River are taken to a town of some kind. a Dusty looking town. They're brought into what looks like a make shift clinic. Simon's been kidnapped for his medical skills, the town needed and doctor and they went and kidnapped themselves one. Simon can do nothing but help the sick people there. On Serenity Mal's succumbed to doing what he never wanted to do, get help from the Alliance. He hails the ship. They open the cargo doors and are about to be searched when a barely conscious Book tells the feds to look at his ident card. They immediately take him into surgery, leaving the crew more than stunned. In the town River tells Doralee, a nurse there, about a girl who hasn't spoken since her mother died. Doralee thinks that River has told her what she knew, but River tells her she didn't speak to her. Doralee immediately thinks that River is a witch. River's taken outside, the Patron is called out. He's about to let her go when River is able to tells some truths about him and orders her to be burnt at the stake.

Book's stitched up and taken back aboard Serenity. On the planet surface Simon tries to plead the with the townsfolk but it doesn't do him any good. So he gets up with River and tells them to burn them both. At that moment a gunshot is fired. Serenity's flying overhead and Zoe and Mal walk in being big damn heroes. They order that Simon and River be let loose otherwise Jayne, on Serenity, will have something to say about that. Back on Serenity Simon jokes about not being able to deal with the first decent wound and ponders on why Mal came back for them. Mal says it's because he's part of the crew. The scene ends with dinner in the kitchen.

A horse drawn cart gets ambushed on a slow moving river gets ambushed by a few men. Though the people on the cart aren't who they seem. It's Mal & Jayne who do some ambushing of their own with help from Zoe. That night a party is thrown in honor of them for helping the townsfolk out. That night Mal and Jayne get a little more than drunk and Mal has a good dance around with one young looking girl. The next morning Mal and the crew have to make their quick exit. Elder Gommen wishes them well on their travels as Serenity flies off. Mal is in the cargo bay storing their supplies when the same young woman from the previous night is there. She tells him he's her wife. Mal's left speechless. Zoe & Jayne enter the cargo bay and Jayne's jealous that Mal got a wife and all he got was a stick that sounds like it's raining. Mal seems to want to turn around and head back to where she came from and asks Zoe to get Wash. Instead she calls all personnel. Inara seems upset and angry at Mal, Kaylee and the rest of the guy make fun and play happy. Book reveals that in Mal's drunken state he was in fact involved in a marital ceremony. Saffron, the young woman, is very distraught and runs off. Mal goes after her to try and find Saffron. He finds her in the engine room. He tries to explain to Saffron about the misunderstanding and tells her that he'll set her down on Beaumont where she can find a job on a ranch or something. As Mal goes off to the bridge he tells her where the kitchen is, she misunderstands and goes off to make supper for him.

As Mal leaves Books tries to impart some wisdom on him and tell Mal to not take advantage of her. Mal's slightly hurt but tells Book that he's no intention of taking advantage. In the kitchen Saffron's made one hell of a supper for Mal, but she's rather protective over her own meal she cooked for Mal. Wash wouldn't mind part of the meal but Saffron doesn't let him. Zoe watches on, still not feeling right about Saffron. Mal gets up to leave, not finishing his supper, but happy with it none the less, though Saffron looks a bit hurt. Mal goes to see Inara who setting up some clients for their next stop, Beaumonde. She's still angry about Mal and marrying, strangely angry in fact. She tells Mal to leave just when she's had enough. Just as Mal leaves he's confronted with Jayne with rather a large weapon. Things look to turn nasty but it's just Jayne being himself wanting to trade his weapon, Vera, for Saffron. Mal, in a somewhat shocked state, walks away without saying much leaving Jayne pretty disappointed. Somewhere in space a chop shop of kinds is looking at the schematic's for Serenity, they're looking to take the ship. On the bridge Zoe and Wash are discussing Saffron. Zoe's getting increasingly annoyed at how Wash is so quick to protect her and why she's there, where as Zoe's remaining suspicious.

Mal enters his quarters only to be startled by Saffron lying in his bed. She manages to seduce him with some bible readings and kisses him. That kiss was enough and it sends Mal to the floor, unconscious. Saffron appears on the bridge where Wash is. She tells him that she's never seen the stars before and seem in awe of them. Again she almost seduces Wash, but he doesn't go for it and tell her that he's in love with his wife. With that Saffron hits Wash and knocks him out. She fiddles with a few wires on the bridge then locks and seals the door to the bridge, first hauling Wash out. As Saffron's running about the ship she bumps into Inara who looks at her in a suspicious manner. Inara wants to know what's going on only to find out that Saffron's not who she claims to be. By the looks of things she seems to have had some companion training, which Inara can sense. When the game is sussed Saffron tries to knock Inara out but she dodges her. Inara runs round the corner to find Zoe holding an unconscious and bleeding Wash. Inara heads to Mal's quarters to find Mal unconscious on the floor. She looks distraught and goes over to kiss Mal, only she too falls to the floor, the same thing that happened to Mal. Before she passes out she manages to call for help from the doctor. 

Mal wakes up, slightly groggy. Simon reveals that Saffron had put a narcotic compound in her lipstick which made Mal pass out. Inara claims she found Mal and then slipped and passed out and so doesn't need any help from Simon. Zoe informs Mal that they're shut down and they're not heading for Beaumonde anymore and Saffron's taken one of the shuttles. Kaylee & Jayne finally manage to open up the doors to the bridge only to find that they can't get the controls running. They manage to get the navigational instruments back online. Mal sees that they're heading towards a net. A net that will break the ship apart and everyone inside. He gets a plan together which involved Vera. Jayne, Zoe & Mal get suited up. Jayne shoots at the station where the net is just before Serenity arrives there. This not only destroys the net but the station too and Serenity passes through unharmed. With that overcome and with Wash getting some steering back Mal makes a visit to Saffron. They located her and her shuttle but he doesn't kill her. A fight does break out but he just knocks her out and leaves her there. Back on Serenity Mal goes to see Inara, wondering about why she passed out. Inara's about to say why, but then Mal says he knew why. It was because she got seduced and was kissed by Saffron too. Inara' none to pleased with Mal's assessment. 

Onboard Serenity Kaylee and Simon discuss why Simon doesn't use swear words. Kaylee sees Inara's about to go off ship to see a client. Simon hears something. It's Jayne in his infirmary, doing what he does best, making a mess. Simon's less than pleased at Jayne's mess just because he wanted to find some tape. Jayne's trying to strap a gun onto himself before they land at the canton factory settlement on Higgins' moon. Mal tells Jayne no weapons, and reluctantly Jayne pulls away the tape. Serenity lands and the crew get out. Mal, Kaylee, Wash and Jayne are going to see about the job while Zoe stays onboard. Kaylee hints that Simon should come along, but he's reluctant to leave River alone. Though Books tries to reassure him that he can look after her, so Simon goes along. Also the fact that Mal could use some upstanding looking citizen to use for their job. Jayne appears to be wearing a rather fetching disguise with goggles, a hat, the lot. They all head over to a mud pit, the foreman to the pits soon comes to meet them where Simon tells him that they're looking to buy some mud. Though Simon is less than convincing as a buyer and Mal has to take the reigns for a few moments. The foreman agrees to let them walk around, he leaves. Mal the the rest of the gang head over to the worker town to find their man, Kessler. As they walk to town they see something that shocks them to their bones. It's a statue, of Jayne.

Jayne's insistent that he doesn't know why there's a statue of him there. Everyone seems to be pretty amused, apart from Jayne who disappeared further into his disguise. Jayne tries to get them moving along, it's clear he's uncomfortable at looking at his own statue. Elsewhere Inara's meeting with Mr. Higgins. The father to her client, Fess Higgins. On Serenity Book's looking after River, though things are off to a bad start. River's "correcting" Book's bible, by crossing bits out and tearing pages out. Book tries to control his anger and takes the bible away from her, leaving her with a few pages she managed to keep. In the worker town in a bar Jayne and the gang are still wondering over the statue which they just saw. A well dressed man appears and asks Mal if he's looking for Kessler. The man tells him that Kessler's dead and that the merchandise they were there to get is around. Just then a busker begins to sing in the bar. It's a folk song, about Jayne! Simon, Kaylee, Wash, Mal and mostly Jayne are completely stunned. On Serenity River goes to see Book and to apologise to him about ripping his bible apart. Only when River sees Book she runs screaming. Zoe comes to see what's going on and finds out why she ran. Book's hair, it looks like he's got electrocuted.

Meanwhile Jayne makes the decision to leave, only when he leaves the bar it looks like a young boy has gone and told the whole town that he's there. he retreats back in only to have a warm reception and the best brandy given to him. Jayne's feeling a bit more at home. But as the commotion goes on it looks like Mal's deal could be gone. At Inara's shuttle, she's welcoming Fess Higgins and quickly gets Mr. Higgins to leave in a forceful but gentle manner. Back at the bar Mal leaves Simon and Kaylee to "keep and eye on" Jayne while Mal goes and sorts the job out. Wash and Mal return to the ship and Wash tells Zoe the good news. She doesn't quite believe him at first, but Mal confirms that Jayne is a folk hero. Mal's set up a little Jayne's day celebration as a diversion so that they can get the stolen goods out and back on the ship, set up for the next day. At Higgins' home the foreman tells Magistrate Higgins that Jayne Cobb is back. Jayne who stole from him earlier. That night the Magistrate sets free a prisoner, Stitch who's looking for Jayne. The next morning Mal comes to collect Kaylee and tell Jayne of the plan for the Jayne's day celebration. Simon's left in the bar because of something he said about Kaylee which upset her somewhat.

Wash arrives on his quad bike with Zoe. Along with them, Mal & Kaylee hitch a ride to get their stash while Jayne makes an appearance in his little celebration. In Inara's shuttle Fess has been informed that Jayne's back. Only Inara gets the impression that it's Mal that Fess is talking about and is extremely shocked when she hears it's Jayne who's this hero. Stitch has found his way to the mudders bar and uses Simon to find Jayne. Jayne meanwhile is giving a speech to his adoring fans. Suddenly Stitch appears and flings Simon to the ground. Kaylee sees to him while a fight breaks out between the two men. The truth comes out about the money and why it fell on the mudders. In all the confusion a shot is fired at Jayne, only he doesn't get shot a mudder dove in the way to protect him and dies from his wound. The crew get back to Serenity with their goods. Wash has a hard time trying to get off the ground, but then suddenly they're off. Seems Fess Higgins has become a man, and let them go. In the air Jayne tells Mal how he doesn't understand why that mudder did what he did, doesn't make any sense.

It's Serenity, she looks deserted. There's nobody in sight. Out of nowhere Mal drops onto the floor of the cargo bay. Then a salesman can be heard, saying what appear to be positive things about Serenity. Though when Mal shows her to Zoe she's less than impressed though she likes Mal's idea of being free, flying in the sky. As Zoe and Mal walk off we come back to the image of Mal lying on the cargo room floor. There's blood coming from a wound on his body. Gathered in the dining room are everyone but Wash. They're laughing about a funny story Book's told them. Wash comes in late and Zoe hands him his dinner she kept aside for him. Kaylee gets up to clean the dishes away and Simon's about to help but she tells him to sit down and tell a funny story. He tries to, only no one seems to be getting the humor and Jayne interrupts him. Just as things go silent Kaylee appears with a birthday cake for Simon. He's about to blow them out when they hear something. Kaylee goes to check it out. Though as she heads towards the door a huge explosion occurs. Zoe jumps in front of Kaylee and saves her life only to be flung across the room. As the fireball heads towards them Mal quickly shuts the door. Jayne and Mal go and see what they can do while Simon looks to Zoe's injuries. Mal clears the fire out of the ship but she stops moving. Serenity's all dark again, an injured Mal is making his way through the corridors and steps into the infirmary clutching an engine part. As the doors open the injured Zoe is carted in, still unconscious. Mal convinces Kaylee to get to the engine room and tries to get Wash back to the bridge. But he won't go, he wants to stay with his wife. Things get heated and he's forced to go. 

Another flashback, back to when Wash was first hired by Mal. Zoe takes an instant dislike to him, but she can't put her finger on why. They also have a genius of a mechanic, someone called Bester. Though he doesn't look much like a genius. There's a beep, it's the heart monitor for Zoe. Her heart's stopped beating. Simon asks Mal to get something from a drawer, it's a shot of pure adrenalin. Simon takes the injection out and stabs it straight into Zoe's heart. Back to the injured Mal, he's in the infirmary patching himself up. He goes to get an adrenalin shot and injects himself, which forces him backwards with pain. He drops the needle. Back to Zoe in the infirmary and her heart's started beating again. Kaylee comes in and lets Mal know that the catalyzer's blown. But it's worse than Mal thinks, main life support's down as is the auxiliary. They're dead in the water. They've got a couple of hours oxygen left, that's all. On the bridge Mal and Wash have a frosty conversation. They argue about getting a beacon set up and increasing it's coverage. Jayne hears them and scolds them about arguing, using up the only oxygen they do have.

Back to the bloodied up Mal, he's stumbling his was through Serenity with an engine part, he appears in the engine room doorway unhurt. He's calling for Bester, who's having himself a little bit of fun with a young woman. When he finally gets his attention he tells Mal that there's nothing he can do for the engine. The young woman corrects Bester and fixes the engine. Mal's so impressed with her work that he gives her a job and it looks like Bester's out of his. In the engine room Kaylee's holding the engine part telling Mal that it's broken and she can't fix it. They need a new part. The bloodied Mal tries to put the engine part back into the engine, but he drops it. In the common area of Serenity everyone's sitting down. Mal explains to them what's happening and what the plan is. Both shuttles are to be launched, four people in each of them. Mal's going to stay on Serenity. The shuttles may not get very far but they may be able ro get help. Just as Mal orders them to get the shuttles ready Wash heads back to the bridge, Mal needs a way to call them back if he finds that savior of his. Mal is prepping Inara's shuttle. She tries to persuade him to go with him, but he's adamant that he's going to stay, there's not enough space for him on either shuttle. Then there's a flashback to when Mal & Inara first met and when he first introduced her to the shuttle she's currently renting. 

Back on the bridge Wash tells Mal everything's set. He's placed a button on the console which will call back both shuttles instantly the minute his miracle arrives. Mal sees everyone off into their shuttles then settles back into a seat on the bridge. Later on, while Mal's sleeping, a sound and signal appears on the console. A ship is hailing him. Just as Mal awakes a ship encompasses Serenity. The captain of the ship is reluctant to help Mal out thinking that it's a plot to take his ship. Though they settle something and the captain's about to come on board with the catalyzer, which Mal needs. Mal goes to the cargo bay, the captain shows him the catalyzer through the window and Mal opens the cargo bay doors. As the doors open the captain and his men have guns pointed at Mal. The captain orders his men to check the ship. Then we have another flashback to when Mal & Zoe first encounter Jayne. They end up hiring him after him and his men find Serenity very easily. Mal's impressed. Jayne's lured by a larger quarter and a bigger cut in the takings. Back to present time and once the ship's checked the captain shoots Mal. He's taking the ship. As Mal falls to the floor he sees a weapon, holstered, on the vehicle stored there. He takes it and orders the captain and his men out, first dropping the catalyzer. They do that and Mal struggles to get it then collapses on the floor. (Back to the beginning of the episode.)

In the engine room the bloodied Mal is really struggling. He finally puts the part in and restarts the engine and heads back to the bridge. But just before he can get there and press the button to call the shuttles back he passes out. When Mal wakes up he's in the infirmary. Everyone's there. Seems Zoe disregarded Mal's order when she finally regained consciousness and ordered the shuttles to return. Thus saving Mal's life. Simon does the doctor thing and orders everyone to leave to let Mal rest. As he sleeps there's a flashback to when he first bought Serenity.

In the kitchen area Simon tries to get River to eat something he's made, but it doesn't smell or taste too appetizing. Serenity's setting down on a core planet, Ariel, so Inara can get her yearly medical check up. Wash is trying to convince Zoe about getting out of the ship but unfortunately Mal's ordering everyone to stay onboard while they're in Ariel. He doesn't want the feds seeing anyone of them. Just as Jayne's cleaning his knife, in a most unsanitary way, River takes a knife from the kitchen and slices him a chest wound. River gets knocked back by a startled Jayne. In the infirmary Simon's stitching up the angry Jayne. Jayne talks about handing Simon & River in, getting themselves some money out of it but Mal's strongly against the idea. As Jayne storms out Mal tells Simon that he has to control her sister even more now, now she's getting worse. As Inara leaves, when Serenity lands, Jayne asks how they're going to get a job if they can't get out of the ship. But Mal doesn't want a job on a core planet. Simon walks in through the doors and says he's got a job for them. He shows them various phials of drugs. All of which are available in St. Lucy's the hospital on Ariel. The drugs aren't the target but the pay off. They can sell the drugs to the needy. The main reason to go to the hospital is to get River & Simon in so that Simon can use the 3-D neural imager on River to find out what is going on with her brain. The crew are worried about getting into the hospital, Simon says he can get them in.

In the kitchen, around the table everyone's sitting and looking at Simon and the plans of the hospital he has on him. Getting Simon & River in will be easy but the rest of them will be harder, they're going to need a few things from the planet's surface. Jayne, Wash and Kaylee volunteer to go topside. In a junkyard Kaylee and Wash are sifting through the junk. Simon tells them, before when they were planning this, that they can't steal what they need, they have to build it. In the junkyard Wash finds exactly what they need, an old small ship. Elsewhere Jayne gets the clothing and passes they need from a man on the street. In order to get them in Simon has to teach Zoe, Mal & Jayne a few things. He tries to teach them a few medical phrases and words to make them sound like paramedics. It's a hard task but they eventually get there. Though Jayne's proving to be a hard student. Later Simon enters the cargo bay with Kaylee, he's astounded at what he sees. A newly revamped ambulance ship. And the finishing touch is Jayne, Mal & Zoe walking out, all fully kitted out in their uniforms. Now all they need are the patients, Simon and River. Simon informs him that they in fact have to be dead for this to work. Simon tells River, she's reluctant to go down, but with some encouragement from her brother she lets him put her to sleep, temporarily.

That night their plan is put to work. They land on St. Lucy's and Mal, Jayne & Zoe cart River and Simon in. They get passed the first doctor easily enough and get into the morgue. There Mal & Zoe leave Jayne with Simon and River and head towards where the drugs are. When they're gone Jayne leaves Simon and River and goes onto the cortex. There he informs the local law of Simon and River's presence and Jayne's looking to get his reward. Jayne returns and River and Simon wake up. He gives them their clothes and they're out of there. Meanwhile Zoe & Mal are making their way through the hospital they meet a rather officious doctor who demands to see their ident cards. Simon, River & Jayne are making their way through the hospital. On their way to the neural imager a patient's going into cardiac arrest. River tries to urge Simon to save him and he does so in the most effective way and tells the doctor who was in charge of him his wrongs. They're on their way once that's over. Elsewhere as the officious doctor gets worse Zoe gets a pair of cardiac infusers and uses them on him, knocking him out. Mal & Zoe get to the store room only their swipe cards don't work. They use the doctor's card and enter. In the imaging suite Simon starts the neural imager. Jayne watches on. Simon sees that they've opened up River's skull on numerous occasions. Each time cutting into her brain. Whoever did it have removed her limbic system. She feels everything she can't not want to. Jayne tells Simon they have to get moving, the plans changed. River screams, completely freaked out. They leave the imaging suite.

Jayne leads them to a different exit to that one planned and there are the feds. They take in Simon and River and surprisingly Jayne gets taken away by the agent who's looking for his reward for capturing three fugitives. Back in the hospital Mal & Zoe have returned with the pay load. Mal's worried that the others aren't back yet. Back to Simon, River & Jayne, Simon's thanking Jayne for trying back at the hospital. Jayne looks a bit shifty at this comment. Meanwhile Mal gets Wash to get hold of Kaylee. Kaylee gets some information from the cortext, some chatter about ducks. It sounds like they've been caught. Zoe & Mal go in to find them. Simon gets Agent McGinnis to talk, they're getting moved. As they're getting move Jayne launches an attack on one of the feds while Simon does his best with the other. Jayne manages to kill one while Simon subdues the other. River leads them out of where they are. But just as they're leaving River says they're here. Back to Agent McGinnis and a couple of blue handed agents have come to see him. When they hear that River spoke they kill him and all the other feds using a bizarre device which makes them bleed from the eyes, nails, nose and mouth. They die. When they hear the screaming Simon & Jayne follow River. They get to a door they can't break, then suddenly there are gun shots on the other side. It's Mal. They're out. They all get back to Serenity safely and Wash gets them back in the air. But first Jayne gets hit in the face with a spanner by Mal.

Mal figured out what really happened and is fuming. He's telling Jayne he's going to kill him by locking him in the outer cargo bay and opening the doors slightly. Jayne confesses. But he doesn't want the others to know what he did, he wants Mal to make something up if he does die. Mal doesn't let him die though. In River & Simon's quarters River's drawing and Simon enters with a needle in his hand and some drugs. River's scared for a few moments, then Simon reassures her. She's not going to sleep this time, she's going to wake up.

In the infirmary Book is talking to Simon about Shan Yu, a psychotic dictator. He mentions that maybe the people who did whatever they did to River were familiar with his teachings. Take a person so far through torture to see who they really are. But Simon's still convinced that it was the government's doings, but Book's a little more open minded. On Niska's skyplex he's getting someone tortured and mentions Shan Yu to him too. On Serenity Inara's discussing a client who's due to see her on her shuttle. She wants complete privacy and no one to be around. Meanwhile Kaylee's chasing River around the cargo bay for an apple she took from her. In the kitchen area Wash & Zoe are enjoying some apples Jayne so generously bought with his cut of the latest takings. Mal tells everyone they're near their next drop, until then they can relax a bit and enjoy themselves. He tells Wash he heard of his plan about eliminating the middle man, but he's not too keen on the idea. Wash looks a little hurt. As Serenity lands on a dusty planet, on the bridge there's a feeling of tension as Wash & Zoe talk. Wash's hurt about the fact that Zoe told Mal his idea about eliminating the middle man but didn't support it, just went alone with what the captain wanted. Frustrated that she'll follow Mal's orders without a blink of an eye but she can't support him in one idea he had. Wash leaves the bridge after the heated conversation. In Simon & River's quarters River's looking poorly. The drugs Simon gave her did work for a short while but have given her some side effects.

In the cargo bay Mal & Inara are waiting for Inara's client. Kaylee, Book & Jayne are watching from a distance. They see him, a rather large fellow. But it looks like he's just the security. Inara's client, the councilor, walks in. The client is female. This baffles and astonishes all who watch, including Mal. Inara takes her up to her shuttle. Jayne goes off to his bunk. In the other shuttle, Zoe's trying to prepare to take off but she's having a hard time accessing everything. Turns out Wash didn't want Zoe & Mal leaving without him knowing. He changed a few things because he wants to go with the captain instead of Zoe. Mal's out of the loop on what's going on but things get sorted and Zoe's not going with Mal, Wash goes. As they make the drop of the drugs which they got from St. Lucy's in Ariel it appears it's an ambush. Bolles, their contact, is shot dead and multiple men come from nowhere with weapons. Mal & Wash can't do anything to stop them. On Serenity The councilor leaves Inara with a goodbye kiss. Just as Jayne tells the other's he's going to his bunk Zoe tells him to grab his gun. Wash & Mal are late. Book wants to come along, though Zoe's reluctant to bring him along but he convinces her he might be needed. They get to where the drop was made and the cargo's still there. Jayne sees a trail made by some kind of ship. Zoe immediately knows who it was.

In Niska's torture chamber a blind folded and hand tied Mal & Wash are shoved in. Wash seems to be heading towards panic but Mal's keeping a cool head. The two get into an argument. It leads to a shocking statement. Zoe did something against one of Mal's orders, she married Wash. With that the doors to the chamber open and Niska enters with Viktor. On Serenity Zoe's trying to get as much money together in order to free Wash & Mal. Everyone pitches in. She's going in alone, and if they don't hear back from her in a reasonable amount of time they have to take Serenity and leave. Meanwhile in Niska's torture chamber Wash & Mal are tied back to back and are being periodically electrocuted. Mal is doing everything he can to stop Wash going falling into unconsciousness, though Wash seems to be fading. Zoe's shuttle docks on the skyplex and Zoe goes to Niska's chamber and approaches him. She offers him the money but it's not enough for the both of them, she has to choose. Without thinking Zoe chooses to get Wash out. As Wash gets up he doesn't want to leave Mal behind. Zoe encourages him to get up but Niska has another thought. The money Zoe gave him is too much for one man so he cuts off Mal's ear and gives it to Zoe. Zoe and Wash head to the shuttle. Wash is convinced Niska's going to kill Mal, but he seems determined to not let him, he picks himself off and fires up the shuttle.

Back on Serenity Zoe tells the crew that they're getting Mal back, her and Wash are going in. Back in Niska's and Mal's being introduced to a new torture device, something worse than you can imagine. In the kitchen on Serenity Wash and Zoe are loading up. Jayne's not convinced their plan is going to work. As Wash and Zoe leave the kitchen Kaylee, Simon and Book are gearing up too. They're going too, as it seems Jayne is standing on the catwalk waiting for them. In Niska's torture chamber seems Mal died, but he's brought back to life using cardiac infusers. On Serenity Wash is getting in position to "thread the needle" and get Serenity into place for docking. They dock and the plan's set. A guard sees Serenity docking and hits the alarm. Mal hears and Niska's somewhat annoyed that they seem to have guests. In the cargo bay of the space station Zoe, Wash & Jayne take the lead and take out the first few people. Book, Simon & Kaylee stay back and keep their ground by Serenity. Simon and Book go to support Zoe, Wash & Jayne who are heading off. Leaving Kaylee on her own, she gets surrounded and can't get herself to fire he weapon. River appears and sees all the guards. She takes the weapon, closes her eyes and shoots them all dead. Kaylee's somewhat scared and shocked. In the torture chamber Mal manages to get the upper hand and get to Viktor. He then tries to kill Niska but he slips away. Left with Viktor the two fight. Zoe, Wash & Jayne appear and Zoe tells them that the captain has to do this one, but it appears he needs help so the three of them shoot Viktor dead, and his body plummets through the station.

Back on Serenity Mal gets stitched up and his ear is glued back on. Kaylee's weary of River and doesn't seem to even want to look at her anymore. In the kitchen Mal airs his views on what Wash said back there, to Zoe. Mal says that the two of them have to have sex in order to get over the sexual tension between them. Jayne watches on in utter confusion as Wash drags his wife away. 

In a desert somewhere and there's Mal sitting, naked, on a rock saying that went well. Seventeen hours earlier Mal meets an old friend at night on some planet. He's an old war buddy who's just got married to Bridgit. She comes along to introduce herself but it's not Bridgit, it's Saffron. Both Mal & Saffron fight upon seeing one another, Monty breaks them up and Mal fills him in on the whole story. Monty leaves Saffron on the planet and Mal's ready to leave her there when Serenity arrives. Mal's about the shoot Saffron, all she wants is a lift onto Serenity and to get off the moon they're on. Mal's not buying it, but she repeatedly tells him of the perfect crime she had lined up. Serenity lands and the cargo that Mal has gets lifted aboard. Onboard seems Inara's calling for Mal so without saying much to the crew about his bruises and bleeding nose he goes up to see her. Seems Inara's frustrated that Mal hasn't landed on a nearly respectable moon or planet in a long time. She hasn't had a client in weeks. Mal tries to defend his decision about going to backwater slums and that it's not about her. The argument is heated and words are exchanged, words that hurt. Mal leaves. He heads to the cargo bay and opens a container. Inside it Saffron's sitting and Mal wants to know more about this job of hers. She explains to the crew in the kitchen the details of the job. The target is a Durran Haymer, he's got an original hand held laser worth millions. But he's Alliance and living on Bellerephon. The crew are confused about why saffron needs their help and if she's going to double cross them again. She does her best to reassure them, telling her it's more than a one man mission. Inara walks in and is still suspicious about Saffron's intentions. Zoe's in on the plan too, only after she slugs one to Saffron's face.

Jayne goes to Simon & River's quarters to tell them that they're to stay in their bunks for when Saffron's there. For their own safety of course. As Jayne leaves River tells Simon that Jayne's scared, ever since Ariel. Serenity's about to pull in on Bellerophon, Inara & Zoe meet on the catwalk in the cargo bay. Inara's got a few clients lined up for their visit and doesn't want to hear about their latest caper. She still distrusts Saffron to a huge extent and tells Zoe to be careful. Saffron was eavesdropping from below. Mal calls her into the shuttle he was just in, he's keeping an eye on her. Wash and Kaylee tell Saffron and Mal what they have to do once they break off from Serenity in shuttle II. They're to appear like helpers as Haymer's throwing a party, they'll be able to blend in and get in through the back door. Then when they find the laser gun they'll have to disable the display. The plan is then to chuck the gun in the garbage, and one of the garbage collectors will take it away to where they want it to go, once Kaylee gets to re-program it. Jayne and Kaylee get outside Serenity and near to one of the garbage ships while Wash carefully pilos the ship closer and closer. Mal & Saffron are in the building on Haymer's estate, blending into the crowds. They get to the room with all the collectible items and the laser gun and get to work. Meanwhile Kaylee and Jayne are having a harder time. Jayne touches a live electronic piece and gets shocked and knocked out. He's taken inside and Zoe takes his place.

As Mal gets the gun out a man enters, though he appears more concerned with Saffron. Telling Mal that he found her, found his wife. She'd been missing for six years. Durran goes to get Mal's reward money, even though he declined. Just as he does Saffron's set to go again and Mal's chucked the laser gun down the shoot. On Serenity Simon sees to Jayne while Kaylee just about gets the job done to the garbage ship. Back to the estate and Durran walks in on a conversation Mal's having with Saffron. She tries to sweet talk him but it doesn't work. He's already alerted the feds, he never though she'd return for him. Saffron knocks Durran out and her and Mal make a break for it. They get to their shuttle and fly away. On the shuttle they head towards the area of desert where the garbage ship has taken the laser gun. Saffron sits, she sobs. Mal sits and talks to her, tries to reassure her and her life that she has. But it was all just a ploy, Saffron's got Mal's gun and tells him to take all his clothes off. Meanwhile Wash tries to get Serenity to the desert only Serenit'y been tampered with again, by Saffron. But Kaylee can fix it this time. Meanwhile Mal gets set down and watches the shuttle zoom away. Saffron's at the bin and searching for the gun, she doesn't find it. Inara's there before her. Her storming off was just a part of the plan. She got the gun before Saffron could get there and shuts the bin doors on Saffron trapping her inside. Inara goes to get Mal and just then Serenity's there too. The crew seem to be rather amused at Mal being naked, but he doesn't seem to mind. He gets on Serenity and closes the doors. 

In a bazaar of some kind Simon and Kaylee go to see an alien in a jar. Though Simon informs Kaylee that it's just a cow foetus. They get talking and again Simon lets his mouth run away with him and he says the wrong thing. Kaylee storms away. Just then Zoe & Wash come to see the grotesque thing in a jar. Zoe tries to console Simon, in a somewhat sarcastic manner. Meanwhile Mal & Inara are walking through the bazaar. A boy tries to pick-pocket Mal, but he spots him. Inara sets she can find someone to buy the laser gun off them, after their first buyer declined it. Mal's having a hard time getting the gun off his hands as it's such a famous artifact, but he doesn't want Inara involved in his less than savory business and jeapordise her career. They head towards the post office area of the skyplex. There Mal's met with a worker who he knows. There's something for Mal he has to sign for. It's addressed to Zoe and Mal. And there's one for Jayne. A hat sent to him by his mother. As Mal opens his crate open, he sees it's a coffin. There's a flashback to one of the battle's during the war. A private called Tracey is busy trying to eat a can of beans. He's about to be killed when Zoe comes out of the darkness and slits the attacker's throat. Elsewhere Mal comes storming in yelling and screaming and firing his gun. They're about to get fired out of there but they get together and get out. 

Back in the postal area Amnon is trying to get Mal to get the body out of there, it's illegal to traffic dead bodies in the postal system. Mal & Zoe can't make sense of it, why Tracey would send his body to them. They decide to take the body onboard with them. On Serenity they open up the coffin again. They find a tape recorder of some kind, it's Tracey on it. There's a long story on it, but all Tracey wanted was to get home to his folks on St. Albans. As the recorded message finishes Wash is heading to the bridge, to get to St. Albans. Back at the bazar, Amnon at the postal office gets a visit from some feds. He wants to know about the package Mal got and where he's going. Amnon does what he can to save his own life and tells them what they need to know. In the kitchen Mal & Zoe are telling Inara some of the stories about what happened when they were together with Tracey and what a joker he was. The conversation dies down then suddenly Serenity's hit, well almost. On the bridge Wash tells them that they could have hit them, it was a warning shot from the feds. The screen comes to life and it's Womack. Mal tries to play it cool and says that they'll set down on St. Albans so that they can search the ship. Zoe and Mal search the coffin in which Tracey was in and his clothing but don't find anything. Looks like Simon's going to have to do that autopsy after all. 

In the infirmary Zoe, Mal and Jayne watch as Simon performs his autopsy. It appears that Tracey's been opened up before. As Simon gets his scalpel out and cuts into Tracey, Tracey wakes up screaming. Mal settles him and pins him to the floor. Everyone's shocked that Tracey's alive. They get him back onto the table. Tracey tells them that he's been out for a week. It appears that Tracey has boosted some organs. Tracey's organs have been replaced and he's shipping new ones. Only he found a new buyer and trying to evade the old buyer. The the better offer went south. His new buyer was dead. As they talk the ship rocks from another explosion. Kaylee takes Tracey away to her quarters to make sure he's alright. The two get along very, very well. Serenity gets to St. Albans with the feds still on their tail. Serenity dodges through ice canyons expertly piloted by Wash who's concentrating harder than we've ever seen him concentrate. They try and hide under a glacier but it sounds like they've found them. They're about to be buried alive but Book tells Mal he has an angle he could play on this one. Tracey's at the bridge and doesn't want the feds to know. Things get heated when Mal tells Wash to call the feds. Tracey pulls out a gun.

Tension grows and Tracey shoots the gun, it ricochets and grazes Wash's temple. Then Tracey looks down, Mal just shot him. Tracey makes a run for it, he takes Kaylee as a hostage. Jayne, Zoe and Mal all have their guns on Tracey. Tracey gets distracted by Jayne and then Mal shoots him. Again. Tracey slumps to the floor. The cargo bay doors open and Womack and his two men walk in intent on getting Tracey back. But Book mentions that they didn't check in with a fed station they just passed, so must mean that they're doing some not so legitimate operation which they could get done for. With that Womack leaves, none too happy. Tracey realises that he was never going to get turned in. Then silently he dies. Later they get to Tracey's folks' place. They take the coffin out and each member of the crew go out to pay their respects. 

A man named Burgess goes to a house encased in silver foil looking for a girl. He's sent away with excuses from a boy and a girl there. The girl is brought out, heavily pregnant. Burgess stabs at her stomach and gets a DNA sample of the child, convinced that the child is his. With that him and his men leave. On Serenity Mal's cleaning his guns in the kitchen and gets a shock when Inara enters quietly. Wash is there is a few moments saying that there's a distress calling coming in. Mal immediately assumes it's for him, but it's not. It's for Inara. A woman called Nandi is looking for her help. Inara knows this woman, they seem to go way back. Inara says it's the kind of thing that her and the crew may well be able to do. Seems Inara wasn't alone when she was talking to Nandi, Mal was listening in. Mal seems happy to take on the work, even though there's no chance that he'll get paid and won't take compensation from Nandi or any of her girls at her house. The crew have a meeting about the job. At first Jayne's not wanting to go, but once he's told that there's whores there he's all for the job. Serenity lands and they see The Bordello, completely covered in what looks like foil. Saves on energy costs, cheap solar power. They enter the bordello and Inara introduces Nandi to Mal and Mal introduces the rest of the crew. Simon sees to Petaline, the pregnant girl while the rest of the crew relax in the bar area of the house.

Mal, Zoe, Inara and Nandi speak about Rance Burgess, the man who wants Petaline's child. Mal wants to meet with him in order to size him up. Just so happens there's something going on in the theatre that night, Mal and Inara are going to go and meet him. He tells Zoe to get a lay of the land, figure out weak spots of the house and what nots. That evening Mal & Inara are at the theatre, there's a shadow puppet set going on behind them. Mal finds Rance Burgess in the crowd. He manages to get Rance's attention with a few well chosen words. Compliments the man's weapon, well at least it looks that way. Rance points it out, a laser gun, top of the line. As Inara and Mal leave the conversation Rance gets a call on his mobile phone. The DNA test came back, the baby is a boy and he's his. Rance plans to get the child the next morning. Back at The Bordello Mal tells Nandi and her workers that they have to leave, all of them. But Nandi refuses to leave her home. The crew think about this for a bit, Jayne points out that Rance may not be expecting a fight, they might be able to catch him out. So they all get to work fortifying the house and getting weapons and plans together for the fight for the next morning. River suddenly says something, it's starting. Petaline's in labor. Simon takes her upstairs while everyone gets to work.

Book tries to reassure a few girls, that no one is going to die. Meanwhile upstairs Jayne is telling one girl that there are going to be deaths, people will die. After he's prepared her the two go to bed together. Outside while Zoe and Wash prepare a booby trap Zoe brings up the topic of having a child. Wash doesn't like the idea of bringing up a baby on Serenity, while Zoe said that it worked fine for her. Upstairs in Nandi's room Mal & her are talking. She shows Mal a few of her prized possessions, three guns. Meanwhile Petaline is in labor though still not fully dilated. There's still a while to go. It's very late and Nandi and Mal are drinking and talking about Nandi's past, when she was studying with The Guild. Mal almost falls for her feminine wiles and then pulls himself away. The two kiss. That night Nandi beds Malcolm Reynolds. Also that night one of the girls from Nandi's house has gone to Burgess to tell him about what Mal and crew are doing. Rance is getting his own army together ready to storm the house. The next morning Mal sneaks out of Nandi's room only to bump into Inara. There's a tense moment, until Inara says he's glad that he went to bed with her. Though clearly she's not. The two pass each other in an uncomfortable conversation. In Petaline's room she's asleep while Inara's crouched on the floor crying her eyes out.

Later that morning Mal's ready and gets everyone else ready for the fight. All the girls and boys are armed and ready to go. Petaline's going through her contractions again as Rance and his men are getting closer and closer. Wash and Kaylee are heading towards Serenity to get her prepped for the fight. Rance comes flying in, a mounted automatic gun on the back of his hover craft is let rip on the house. Jayne takes the gun man out. Hell breaks loose. Meanwhile on Serenity three men open fire on Kaylee and Wash. They manage to get past them. Burgess has managed to get into the house, from a back entrance opened by Chari. On Serenity Kaylee and Wash have managed to evade the men and lock them up in the kitchen area, but Wash has ended up in the engine room and Kaylee the bridge. Petaline's had her baby, it's a boy. They enjoy the moment, only for Rance to enter in a moment. He takes the child. Outside the room he's stopped by Nandi, but Inara sneaks up behind him and takes a knife to his throat. He relinquishes the child to Inara and then shoots Nandi. Nandi drops and Rance is off. Mal gets to Nandi just as she drops dead and then goes after Rance. Mal catches up to Rance on a horse, the two fight and he's brought back to The Bordello. The fighting's stopped. Petaline goes out to see Rance, with child in hand. She takes a gun and shoot Rance dead and then banishes Chari away from The Bordello. The next day a service is held for Nandi, she gets a proper burial. The crew are back on Serenity, Inara and Mal talk on the catwalk just outside Inara's shuttle. She says she's made a decision she should have made a long time ago. She's leaving.

Serenity is deep in space, there doesn't appear to be anyone for miles of them. Onboard Simon's telling Kaylee about when he first graduated and the things he had to do. There are some funny moments. River comes down and watches the two talk, then suddenly they go silent and she hears Simon say to her that he would have still had that life had it not been for River. Then they're back to normal. River's shocked and moves on, further deeper in the ship. She goes into the kitchen where Jayne's cooking and Book's sitting by the table. She hears Jayne say that the money was too good and Book sounds completely out of character in what he says. Her breathe is taken away and she leaves. She sees Wash and Zoe kissing on the bridge and appears to be feeling what they are. She drags herself away and watches Mal & Inara talk on the catwalk. She looks dizzy and confused at what they say and flees down the stairs into the cargo bay. There she hears the see and there's a breeze. On the floor of the cargo bay, it's littered with golden leaves. She steps on a stick shaped like a gun. She says it's just an object. Suddenly Simon & Kaylee enter trying to tell River to calmly put the the stick down. But it's not a stick, as reality kicks in we see it's a gun. Mal quickly grabs it from her. River storms away mentioning how crowded it's getting. Everyone's fairly confused and Kaylee looks pretty scared again. Later on the bridge Wash and Zoe discuss River's latest shenanigan. Wash notices some heat flux on the bow of the ship, he thinks it's nothing. Then we see outside the ship that there's another smaller ship tailing them. Mal seems to have blamed Jayne for leaving the loaded weapon around. He doesn't appreciate being blamed for it. Conversation goes into the direction that River may be dangerous. Kaylee comes by and over hears and tells them that she has shot a gun before, when all of them think she hasn't.

A meeting is held in the dining room, without River. Kaylee tells everyone what happened when the crew went to save Wash & Mal from Niska's skyplex. About River and shooting three men without thinking. Simon's astonished that River could or even would do that. Lots of theories are thrown in the air including the fact that River may be a seer, a psychic. No one really cares to believe it at first, least of all Simon. Mal thinks it could be what the Alliance want, an assassin, but Simon can't believe what they're all saying. Mal tells them all to get some rest. They all scatter. Kaylee tries to apologise to Simon about saying what she did but she had to. The two are alone in the corridor, Simon accepts her apology. The two are about to kiss when Books comes by. Meanwhile a man opens the airlock to Serenity and climbs in and takes his helmet off. He doesn't make a single sound. He stows his helmet away then as he turns he sees Mal. The two freeze for a moment then fight. Though this mystery man appears to be no match for Mal and easily bests him. He knocks him out then drops him into his quarters, silently. Then locks everyone in their quarters. Kaylee's in the engine room. She hears something, thinks it's River, but it's not. It's the man who's entered the ship. He threatens her into silence, telling her he could rape her if he wanted to. Kaylee's in tears trying to keep herself together. The man's going to tie Kaylee up and tells her to be quiet.

Book's leaving the bathroom, he hears something. Then shrugs it off, suddenly out of nowhere the man comes and knocks Book out. Simon opens the doors to River's room, but she's not there. As he goes through the empty corridor he's attacked by the man aboard the ship. He sits Simon down and asks where River is but Simon honestly doesn't know. Simon's not about to tell this man where he is, but he uses Kaylee as a way of getting Simon to do what he wants. As the two go around the ship they see Book unconscious on the floor. Simon goes to see to him, saying he didn't have to do this to a Shepherd. The man notes that he isn't a Shepherd. They walk around the ship and head to Inara's shuttle. As the man leaves Inara tries to charm him, but he sees straight through her and hits her on the mouth, leaving her lip bleeding. He then locks the door to her shuttle as he exits. They get to the bridge and have still yet to find River. Early talks through the com systems asking for River to come out. Zoe begins to awake and Jayne is sleeping soundly. Suddenly there's River's voice. She knows who the man is, his name is Jubal Early. River's not on the ship, she melted. She's not River anymore she's Serenity. River says she's become a part of the ship. Everyone's waking on the ship, everyone but Jayne that is.

River gets to Kaylee through the com system. She tells her to be strong and brave and get up. Early makes a comment about River playing games, then River laughs. River reels off some information about Early, including the fact that he's a bounty hunter. River appears to be getting to Early. In Mal's room he's finally up and hears River. She tells him to get up and do what she says. River tells Kaylee to get ready. Kaylee's crossed the kitchen and on her way to the bridge. She quietly unlocks all of the crew's quarters. In Wash & Zoe's quarters, Zoe's convinced she can take the guy. But River doesn't want any violence and tells her to stay put. In Mal's room Mal seems unconvinced about what River seems to be doing but follows her order about when to go as she says it. As River talks more to Early he finally twigs where she is. She's on his ship! River laughs at this final revelation. River then tells Early she's willing to give herself up to Early. She'll go with him quietly, she's too much of a danger onboard. Everyone reacts to this in the same way, sadness. River's near to tears and tells Simon she'll be okay. Suddenly Simon lunges at Early and a gunshot is fired. Simon's shot in the thigh. Early's off to his ship. As he goes down the stairs Simon makes another attack at him, but it only delays Early.

As Early exits Serenity he tells River that she made the right move. Just then Mal appears behind him and throws him off into space. He makes a slight ricochet on his ship and drifts away. River sets Early's ship to autopilot and leaves and heads back to Serenity. Inside Zoe's doing a make shift job on getting the bullet out of Simon while Wash mops her brow. Inside, things seem to be back to normal Jayne's working out with Book and Kaylee and River are playing jacks. Elsewhere Early just drifts off into space.