The crew is stunned when they learn that Scorpius has bought the slaves out from under D'Argo. Rather than trade Crichton for Jothee, Crichton, D'Argo, Aeryn and Rygel seek out mercenaries to help them steal the slaves. In the process, they encounter some enemies they've fought in the past. Meanwhile, back on Moya, the stolen money has turned into metal-eating spiders that begin to consume Moya.

The crew find a doctor that can heal Moya's burns and remove Crichton's neural chip. Things are complicated however when Crichton is informed he needs additional brain tissue from a donor in stasis who will die when the tissue is removed. Also Scorpius is beginning to take over Crichton's mind.