On one of the Outer Rim moons, Captain Malcolm Reynolds ends a card game as the winner and proud owner of an ancient map covered in mysterious symbols. The former owner insists that it is worthless. Aboard the Serenity, River Tam interprets the signs and claims that the map points the way to one of the Arks, the generation ship that brought people from Old Earth. The ship is a real repository of forgotten technologies, antiques and relics of the past. A real treasure for the finder. As the crew approaches an old ship drifting among the stars, they discover that it is not as dead as it first seemed. The closer they get, the more excited River becomes. She claims that something is waiting for them on board, something powerful and very evil...