Buck has been moping about, pining for the Earth he once knew and can never know again. So when Twiki suggests a surprise birthday party, Dr. Huer and Wilma agree. Their problem then becomes how to get Buck out of his apartment while they set it up. That proves easy enough when the Security Directorate sends a courier for Dr. Huer's itinerary: they ask Buck to escort her back to the Directorate, which is concerned about a possible threat to Huer's life. But the threat is very real and the source of it a very bitter and dangerous man, who has been cooped up in prison underground for nearly fifteen years - and blames Huer for it!