Nandi, an old friend of Inara's and a former Companion, runs an unlicensed bordello on a barren planet. The bordello is frequently patronized by Rance Burgess, a tyrannical ruler who keeps the community excessively poor so that he can govern it as a cowboy. Burgess, whose wife is infertile, believes a pregnant prostitute named Petaline is carrying his child. With Burgess promising to take the child once it is born, Nandi contacts Inara and asks her if the Serenity crew can help defend her establishment. Mal agrees, but upon arrival realizes that Burgess' cavalry is too powerful to fight and advises Nandi and her working girls to leave the planet immediately.