Plots swirl around Crichton and his fiancee, Princess Katralla. The empress promises Crichton that if he doesn't marry her daughter, she will hand him over to Scorpius. Meanwhile, Prince Clavor plots to assassinate Crichton so that he may ascend to the throne in his sister's place.

When the crew hear rumors of creatures infesting ships in the area, they buy an alien tracker to remove the creatures aboard Moya. But it soon becomes apparent that the creatures could cause a lot of damage before the tracker finds it putting the crew in danger.