An apparently simple mission – apprehending a speculator-droid – turns into a race against time when the Shingouz drop in uninvited mid-arrest, begging Valerian and Laureline for protection against someone who means to kill them. To the agents' surprise, it's an old friend who soon pops up in hot pursuit, guns blazing. The ensuing shoot-out does little to simplify an already complicated situation: our heroes' favourite information brokers have managed to ... lose Earth in a card game!