Jim Crow in the 24th Century? Surely an absurd thought!

Yet, for the citizens of the Gamma Zednor system, under the administration of Governor Ambrose Hartley, it is but a fact of everyday life. In recent years, Gamma Zednor's government has passed a series of xenophobic laws restricting the rights of citizens of Japanese descent, and enforcing a strict segregation system.

These "Junichi Koyama" laws as the have come to be known by, fly in the face of the Federation's values of equality, and now, following the destruction of a Federation outpost in the system, Governor Hartley is among a growing number of planetary governors seeking to leave the Federation altogether.

When the USS Myogi is dispatched to the Gamma Zednor system to assist the crew of the USS Akagi in negotiating with Governor Hartley, the crew discovers firsthand the cruelties of Junichi Koyama, with not even Captain Takahashi being safe from xenophobic ridicule.

When Governor Hartley proves he cannot be reasoned with, the two Starfleet crews are swept up into a conspiracy to assassinate Governor Hartley so that his more moderate deputy governor would be sworn in. A more moderate governor would mean potential repeal of the Junichi Koyama laws, but moreover, might guarantee Gamma Zednor's continued Federation membership. However, Starfleet personnel involved in such a plot would be seen as a violation of the Prime Directive at best, and (if the plot were to fail) treason at worst.

With Gamma Zednor's future at stake, the two Starfleet crews must make a choice: Stand by the Prime Directive and risk Gamma Zednor potentially falling to the Confederacy of Independent Planets, or intervene in the affairs of others to guarantee its continued Federation membership and the undoing of its political backsliding.