Synopsis:
Simon and Kaylee take in the sights and sounds of a space bazaar, where a carnival barker beckons them to see proof of alien life which is contained in a glass jar. Simon recognizes the “proof” as a cow fetus. A short time later Mal and his crew meet up with Amnon Duul, a postman who has a man-sized crate addressed to Mal and Zoe. Before the pair open the container, Jayne reads a letter from his mother which came with a small package. Jayne opens the package and finds a wool cap with earflaps and a pom-pom. He puts on the goofy hat and displays it proudly to the others. Moments later Mal and Zoe unlock the crate and find a corpse inside. They recognize the body: it's their old war buddy Tracey. The corpse is transported back to the ship. They find a tape recorder inside the crate. On it is a message from Tracey, who asks that his body be transported back home so he can be buried in the family plot. Meanwhile, back on the carnival planet, a detective named Womack, flanked by two other detectives, Fendris and Skunk, approaches Amnon. Womack demands to know where the body has been taken. At first Amnon pretends not to know, but after being pressured he admits that Mal left with it. The detectives spray Amnon with lighter fluid and threaten to set him on fire if he tells anyone about the conversation.Mal and the crew react when warning shots are fired over the Serenity's bow. Womack appears on the view screen and demands the return of the crate. Mal warns that his threats are meaningless; if he destroys the ship, he'll destroy the crate along with it. Mal orders Simon to conduct an autopsy on Tracey's body, convinced it must hold something the detectives are after. When Simon slices the corpse's chest with his scalpel, Tracey suddenly springs to life, screaming. Once Tracey regains his wits—and his wound is bandaged—he tells the others that he took a drug that made him appear to be dead. As Tracey speaks Simon notices that none of his medical readouts are normal. Tracey explains that his real organs have been removed and replaced with organs grown in a lab. He is, in effect, smuggling illegal organs to a clinic, where his real organs would be replaced once the artificial ones are harvested. Somewhere along the way Tracey received a higher offer for the organs, but when he cemented the deal it soon went south. Three men began chasing him and he barely escaped with his life. He then faked his own death, hoping it would stop the men from chasing him.Womack's police cruiser fires more blasts at the Serenity. Kaylee pulls Tracey away from the bridge and leads him to her cabin. Kaylee was moved by the words in Tracey's recorded message and has a secret crush on him. When the police cruiser continues firing at the ship, Mal instructs Wash to set down in an icy canyon on a nearby planet. When Womack loses sight of the Serenity he begins bombing the canyon with magnetic depth charges. Mal realizes that if he doesn't surrender, the ship will be blown to bits. Tracey makes his way back to the bridge, gun in hand. He tells Mal not to surrender, as he refuses to have the organs harvested and be left for dead. Mal nonetheless orders Wash to contact Womack's ship. When he reaches for the radio Tracey swings his gun and fires at the radio console. As he does so Zoe fires off a shot, striking Tracey. Tracey makes his way through the ship using Kaylee as a human shield. Aware of her feelings for him, Tracey asks for her help, but Kaylee wants nothing to do with his plan. When Tracey realizes Mal contacted the other ship, he grows enraged and points his gun at Kaylee's head. Above, on the catwalk, Jayne cocks his gun. Tracey spins around, giving Mal the opportunity to fire a shot at Tracey. Tracey drops the gun and slumps to the floor.A short time later Womack and his two colleagues board the ship. Book warns Womack that he's surrounded, outnumbered, and out-gunned; and since the entire crew knows that Womack is on the take, clearing routes in his jurisdiction for black market pirates, he suggests he leave the ship at once. Womack turns around and does just that. Before he steps off the ship Womack tells Jayne that his mother's hat makes him look like an idiot. After Tracey dies the crew flies the body to the planet where his parents live.