In a desert, a naked Mal (Nathan Fillion) sits on a rock, saying to himself, “Yeah, that went well.” Cue the flashback, 72 hours earlier. During a cargo transfer, Mal meets up with Monty (Franc Ross) an old war buddy. As Monty’s cargo is being unloaded, he introduces his wife Bridget, who turns out to be Mal’s old nemesis Saffron (Christina Hendricks). He tells Monty what kind of a scam-artist she is, and Monty leaves her behind. Mal considers doing the same, but she offers him a lucrative heist. When Serenity arrives to pick up the cargo, he lets her out of one of the boxes.
Saffron tells the crew of her plan to steal a priceless antique laser pistol, the Lassiter, from Durran Haymer (Dwier Brown) a wealthy collector. She says she knows how to get into his estate but needs Serenity to get out. The crew is none too pleased with seeing her again but agree. Jayne (Adam Baldwin) is to watch over Simon (Sean Maher) and River (Summer Glau), to keep them out of Saffron’s sight. River tells Simon that Jayne tried to betray them. Wash (Alan Tudyk) and Kaylee (Jewel Staite) instruct Mal and Saffron how to dump the pistol into a trash disposal unit, which Kaylee can program to dump where needed.
Mal and Saffron get into the estate with no problem, but meet up with Durran, who embraces Saffron, calling her Yolanda, and thanks Mal for bringing back his wife—lost for six years. Saffron insists that Durran provide some compensation for her rescuer. When he goes off to get money, they take the pistol. When Durran returns, she knocks him out and leaves with Mal, after they dump the pistol in the trash.
Wash has been hovering in Serenity right under the trash unit of Haymer’s estate in a windstorm. Jayne gets an electric shock, Zoe (Gina Torres) helps Kaylee replace the control board of the trash unit, Shepherd (Ron Glass) drags Jayne inside. Mal and Saffron fly to the rendezvous point in Isis Canyon. Saffron takes his gun and leaves him naked in the desert, then she proceeds to the drop location.
As Saffron searches for the pistol in the trash, Inara (Morena Baccarin) appears above her with the weapon. She closes the trash container and traps Saffron inside for the authorities to pick up. On Serenity, the crew discovers that Saffron has sabotaged their ship and Kaylee has to fix it. Jayne wakes up in the infirmary to find that Simon has paralyzed him to help cure a spinal injury. He tells Jayne that he knows about the betrayal, reminds him that Serenity’s crew is a team, and as the Doctor he will never harm Jayne. River warns him that she can kill him with her brain. Finally, Serenity leaves to pick up Mal. He strides onto the ship naked, shocking everyone but Kaylee.
The planet involved is Bellerophon, the name of the Greek hero who killed the Chimera monster. Also, the name of ships in Forbidden Planet, the Andromeda series, and Deep Space Nine. Also, British Royal Navy and U.S. Navy warships. The episode was not aired during the original series run. Nathan Fillion complained that when a woman was to appear in the nude, it would be a closed set, but his was not. He wore a mitten in the appropriate place. He put Joss Whedon’s face on it. Nathan Fillion’s tattoo is an Egyptian glyph meaning peace.