On a planet called Midden, Yvaine, a human woman, and her sixteen year-old son, Breyon, are fishing. A ship flashes through the air and lands nearby. Yvaine goes to see if anyone is hurt, and finds the Eureka Maru wrecked on the shore. The Eureka and its pilot have obviously been through some kind of battle. Inside the Eureka, Tyr is half-unconscious and completely bewildered. He doesn’t remember anything Ñ not even his own name or what is in the large metal crate in the ship’s cabin.

Yvaine brings Tyr back to her house. He is hit by a flash of memories, but can’t place anything. Breyon is uneasy with Tyr, though Yvaine can tell that Tyr is not a typical Nietzchean. On Midden, members of the Drago-Kazov Pride (nicknamed Dragans) rule with force and intimidation. Tyr assures Breyon that he hates the Dragans, though he is not sure why. Yvaine decides to call Tyr "Nemo," the Latin word for no one.

Yvaine and Tyr inspect the Eureka to try and find clues to who Tyr is and where he came from. As they return to the house, they hear voices and see Breyon pinned against a wall by Hanno Borensson, a local bully, and his thugs. When Hanno threatens Yvaine and puts a knife to her throat, Tyr steps in. He has flashes of himself in combat and knows he can beat the three men. Tyr knocks one of the thugs unconscious, and disarms Hanno and the other one. Yvaine begs Tyr not to kill them, as the consequences would be too severe.

Tyr and Yvaine decide to look through the Maru’s datadisk for clues, but the database has been scrambled. Back on the Andromeda, Beka and Dylan are having similar troubles trying to track Tyr and the Eureka. Tyr finds a fake pilot’s license and deduces he must have been doing something dangerous when the Eureka crashed. The ship was infested with attack nanobots designed to scramble electrical systems both mechanical and biological. Since Tyr is a Nietzchean and has a bioengineered immune system, his internal defense nanobots stopped the attack and will eventually fix the damage, thus restoring his memory.

Yvaine tells Tyr that the Dragans dropped an atomic warhead on her hometown when she was little, killing her entire family. Tyr has vague flashes of a similar experience. Dragans also killed Laurent, Breyon’s father. Though she is not Breyon’s mother, Yvaine loved Laurent deeply and swore she would raise Breyon and keep him safe. There is a connection between Yvaine and Tyr, a mutual sadness and need for each other. They are about to kiss when a flash goes across the sky Ñ Dragans are on the way.

For the safety of Yvaine and Breyon, Tyr leaves. Though he still doesn’t know what’s in the crate, he knows the Dragans are after it. Dylan and Beka track Tyr’s path to the Drago-Kazov homeworld, but are confused as to why he would go there. Back at the Eureka, Tyr tries to move the crate to find it’s incredibly heavy. He hears voices and ducks into the woods, just as a concussion grenade and a barrage of bullets attack the Maru.

As Arjun, the senior officer, searches the ship, Tyr attacks from behind and corners him. Holding Arjun at gunpoint, Tyr orders him to carry the crate. They take the crate deep into the woods. Tyr considers killing Arjun, but sees he is a father and a husband and decides to spare him. Arjun discovers Tyr is of the Kodiak Pride and thanks him for the honor of carrying the crate. Perplexed, Tyr takes the crate further into the woods and leaves Arjun. Tyr has another set of flashbacks Ñ the crate holds the mummified body of Drago Museveni, the Original Progenitor and first Nietzchean. His body is the Nietzchean’s holiest relic - the Drago-Kazov stole it from Tyr’s pride and he had taken it back.

Arjun rounds up a group of soldiers and goes on the hunt for Tyr. Tyr and Yvaine meet briefly, he tells her to go to safety. Breyon yells from inside the house for Tyr. He runs in and finds Yvaine and Breyon being held hostage by Arjun and three Nietzchean soldiers. Tyr agrees to lead them to the crate in exchange for Yvaine and Breyon. Once in the cave where the crate is hidden, one of Tyr’s booby traps collapses the ceiling of the cave and kills one of the soldiers. The other two soldiers are trapped on the outside of the rubble Ñ Arjun, Tyr, Yvaine and Breyon are trapped together on the other. Arjun is well armed and has the upper hand. As he beats Tyr, more memories come flooding back. Suddenly his identity comes to him, giving Tyr the energy and strength to kill Arjun.

One of the walls of rubble explodes, Nietzchean soldiers have them trapped. From behind, Beka and Dylan suddenly appear and disarm the soldiers. Back at the Eureka, Beka gets the ship running and warns Tyr that they must hurry before more Dragan troops arrive. For a moment, Tyr contemplates staying with Yvaine and Breyon, but realizes it would be too dangerous for all of them. He asks Yvaine to come with him, but she can’t leave her home. They say a tearful good-bye, and Tyr loads the crate back on to the Eureka and takes off.