 While visiting an outlying planet for the Serenity crew to drop off their cattle cargo, Simon and River are kidnapped by local villagers in need of a doctor. But soon the superstitious villagers learn of River s powers of clairvoyance and thinking that she s a witch, decide to burn her and Simon alive at a steak. Flashbacks to River and Simon s childhood show the young Simon trying to please his demanding and stern father, Gabriel, to become a doctor, and then abandoning it when Simon learns that River has being abducted by Alliance Academy agents to study her developing clairvoyant powers. Meanwhile, Mal, Zoe, and the rest of the crew are forced to seek medical help from an unlikely Alliance ship when Shepherd Book is shot during a scuffle with ranchers.