The narrator remarks that everyone seems to have a tall tale around the bounty hunter droid IG-88. The narrator mentions the different origins stories around IG-88 including killings it creators or reprogramming itself to recognised no master. Other stories claimed that it sliced out its own imperative programming to avoid damage, "leaving it free to rend and reshape itself with the obsession of an artist." The narrator also mentions that witnesses have claimed that IG-88 was destroyed on multiple occasions but reemerged.
IG-88 accepts a job from an Imperial officer to hunt and kill a shuttle thief named Venga Liss, who has holed himself inside a cave. In line with his tradition of not claiming bounties, IG-88 uses a thermal detonator to incinerate Liss' remains after killing him. IG-88 doesn't care that Liss is a senior member of an outlaw gang and that there is high reward on him. The Imperial officer is furious with IG-88 since blowing up Liss' remains makes it hard to identify the thief or to pay IG-88. IG-88 doesn't want a reward since he thinks that killing is a reward.
The narrator observes that IG-88 seeks perfection in mind, body, and the caliber of opportunities. This leads IG-88 to take risky jobs such as investigating a prison break on Kalarassi Five that occurred five years ago. IG-88 is joined by 4-LOM, Embo, Dengar, and Krrsantan. While the other bounty hunters accept a stormtrooper's explanation that the late Liss was responsible for the prison break, IG-88 does not believe him and investigates the stormtrooper. He discovers that the stormtrooper is actually the Snivvian Kaluub Akjee, one of the Kalarassi prisoners who escaped.
IG-88 demands that Akjee reveal the whereabouts of his fellow escapees. However, the droid is cornered by Akjee's associates, who include a Duros, Sullustan nmed Lopz, and grey-skinned alien. Akjee's associates disintegrate IG-88's body with their blasters but capture his head.
The criminals force their way into a local business and tie up the staff. Akjee tells Lopz to hook IG-88's head to a computer, hoping to claim the bounties that IG-88 has killed. He hopes that they can acquire a starship an escape offworld to live like kings. Akjee and his associates are amazed by IG-88's bounties and decide to collect payment from the Gillanium Syndicate. As fugitives, they don't want to deal with the Galactic Empire or the Bounty Hunters' Guild. While the criminals drink, none of them notice IG-88 withholding some holoclips or placing a call to his ship IG-2000.
Later, Akjee and his associates meet with The Underlord, the masked leader of the Gillanium Syndicate. They claim to have killed numerous bounties including Prixqip the Mutilator, Oolamalloola, the Black Ivory Quintuplets, and Venga Liss. While Ajkee is slightly uncomfortable since he didn't include Liss, Lopz claims credit for killing Liss, hoping to claim the reward money. However, this angers the Underlord, who reveals himself to be Liss' father.
The distraught Underlord and his guards attack Akjee and his associates, killing several of them. The narrator explains that though crime lords offer competing bounties, none of them are stupid enough to attack them on their own turf. While the guards secure the Underlord, nobody notices IG-88, who signals his ship to attack the Gillanium Syndicate's den. IG-2000 fires a hole through the ceiling and dispatches a fresh body for IG-88. IG-88's head is reattached to the body and attacks the surprised Gillanium Syndicate, taking down the Underlord and several of his men.
While IG-88 updates his bounties, the narrator tells the reader that all of the tall tales around IG-88 are true.