The rebels and the Federation are searching for the stolen prototype of Imipak, a deadly new weapon. Servalan and Travis use a Blake clone to get information on this weapon from one of Blake's friends.

The Liberator returns to Earth, and Blake wants to capture Federation Control, in the belief that it would cripple the Federation.

A ""time bomb"" planted in Blake's memory by the Federation has been stimulated. He goes to an asteroid to meet with the legendary Shivar and Governor Le Grand, who also wish to overthrow the Federation.

Blake believes Docholli knows the location of Star One, and has traced him to Freedom City, a gambler's paradise. At the Big Wheel gambling casino, a miniaturized Orac helps Avon and Vila win large amounts of money. Little do they know Servalan has got there ahead of them.