Commander Jeffrey Sinclair (Michael O’Hare) and Narn Ambassador G’Kar (Andreas Katsulas) track down Centauri Ambassador Londo Mollari (Peter Jurasik) in a strip club, where he has been hiding to avoid meetings over the Euphrates Treaty. G’Kar’s strait-laced new attaché Ko D’Ath (Mary Woronov) arrives. As G’Kar shows her to her quarters, Londo watches the newest dancer, a beautiful young Centauri woman (Fabiana Edenio), who turns up in his bed when he gets back to his quarters.
Security Chief Garibaldi discovers an unauthorized use of Gold Channel and alerts Sinclair, who is waiting impatiently for G’Kar, Ko D’Ath, and Londo’s aide Vir Cotto (Stephen Furst). Telepath Talia Winters (Andrea Thompson) is overwhelmed by the animosity of G’Kar and Ko D’Ath. Earth Alliance is anxious for a peaceful settlement of the dispute. Londo is still in bed with Adira Tyree. Vir contacts him and he agrees to be at the meeting soon. Garibaldi tells Susan Ivanova (Claudia Christian) about the Gold Channel, but the security breach doesn’t seem to bother her. Londo arrives for the negotiations in a good mood. Adira is confronted by her alien master Trakis (Clive Revill). Why has she not yet stolen Londo’s purple files, which has the dirt on the most important Centauri families? He orders her to use a mind probe.
Londo arrives at Adira’s quarters that night with many gifts. He has made reservations at Fresh Air and she is shocked that he is not ashamed of her, but she means more to him than Centauri propriety. Garibaldi finds another Gold Channel violation. Sinclair takes Talia to Fresh Air to thank her for her help in the negotiations and she tells him of Londo’s loudly broadcast erotic thoughts. Garibaldi tells Ivanova that the security breach involves the Russian Consortium. Back in his quarters, Adira fixes Londo a drink with a sedative. Using the mind probe, she obtains the password to the purple files, downloads them to a data crystal, and leaves behind the brooch he gave her. The next morning, Vir arrives to find Londo with a severe headache. He appoints Vir in his place at the negotiations. Trakis contacts Adira. She tells him she will meet him in the central marketplace but flees when he arrives.
Trakis finds Londo looking for Adira and tells him she is a Narn agent who has stolen the files. He plants a bug on Londo. G’Kar is enraged at Vir’s presence at the negotiations and turns over his authority to Ko D’Ath. Sinclair asks Talia to keep them all talking while he tracks down Londo. Londo confesses what happened and asks for help. Not wanting to file an official report, they go to the club where Adira works and find out from the other dancers that Adira is hiding in Brown Sector. Trakis hears the conversation through the bug on Londo. He hires thugs to delay Londo and Sinclair. He grabs Adira and the thugs disappear.
Ivanova alerts Garibaldi to gunfire in Brown 7. He sends a team and stays to monitor Gold Channel. Sinclair tells Londo he can have Trakis arrested, but Londo will be disgraced. Londo still cares for her and fears Trakis will harm her. Garibaldi learns that Ivanova is using Gold Channel to monitor her dying father on Earth, who speaks to her one last time before he dies.
Sinclair has a plan to find Adira. He tells G’Kar he can purchase the purple files from Trakis. Talia says she will help if she does not have to violate Psi Corps rules. They meet with Trakis for a deal and she warns him not to think of anything incriminating, like Adira’s whereabouts, which of course he does loud and clear. Londo knocks Trakis down with one punch and takes his files back, then thanks G’Kar for his service to the Centauri Empire. G’Kar stalks off in a rage. Garibaldi tells Ivanova she was right and the problem with Gold Channel was just a glitch. Londo meets Adira as she is leaving. At Sinclair’s insistence, he has freed her. Londo gives her the brooch and she promises to return one day.
Straczynski started with five main goals for the series. One, it would have to be good SF as well as good TV. Two, it should take an adult approach to SF, not a child’s approach. “It should do for SF what Hill Street Blues did for cop shows.” No cute kids or robots. Three, it should be reasonably budgeted. Four, it would have to be different: individual stories against a much broader canvas. Five, no utopian future, but a world with greed and homelessness, where characters develop, live and die, where things change and do not reboot after each episode. Someone once said, “I hope the future will be Star Trek, but it will probably be Babylon Five.” He wrote 92 of the 110 episodes, including all but one episode of the last three seasons.