Princess Leia organizes a rescue team to save a carbonite-frozen Han Solo from the hands of the infamous bounty hunter known as Boba Fett, who is taking Han to the ruthless Jabba the Hutt. The mission is unsuccessful, and Fett gets away with Han.
Meanwhile, Darth Vader is hunting down his son, Luke Skywalker so that he can turn him over to the dark side of the Force. However, the leader of the Black Sun criminal syndicate, Prince Xizor, is trying to kill Luke. Both Vader and Xizor are in Emperor Palpatine’s good graces, and Xizor even pretends that he is looking to have Luke become a member of the Galactic Empire, just as Vader is trying to do. And even though the latter Sith is more aware of the Prince’s plans, Palpatine forces Vader to trust in Xizor.
In order to lure Luke over so that he can kill him, Xizor has Princess Leia kidnapped. Luke, Lando Calrissian and Dash Rendar sneak into Xizor’s palace from underground to rescue Leia, and this all leads into a conflict that ultimately leads to the palace’s destruction. Luke, Leia, Lando and Dash all escape, but so does Xizor. Eventually, a battle plays over Imperial Center where Xizor is killed in the destruction of his own skyhook.
The novel ends as Luke and Leia plan to rescue Han from Jabba the Hutt’s clutches, leading into Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi.