When investigating an ocean ship, The Esperanto, the crew are attacked by a Despair Squid and awake to find they are entirely different people who have been playing the game "Red Dwarf" for the last four years. Is this truly their reality?
At a research complex on an ice planet, the crew find the hologram of Dr. Lanstrom who has been infected with a holo virus that turned her mad. Back on the Red Dwarf the crew are subjected to quarantine by Rimmer who's also been infected.
The Red Dwarf crew encounter the Polymorph, a genetically engineered space mutant that drains the emotions from humans, that has arrived on-board Red Dwarf.
Red Dwarf's back-up computer Queeg 500 takes command of Red Dwarf when Holly allows a meteorite to damage the ship and Rimmer to malfunction. The crew encourages Holly to challenge Queeg to a game of chess, where the loser gets erased from the system.
As the crew contend with Starbug's dwindling supplies, they find themselves being pulled towards a deserted space station where they meet the brilliant but mysterious Legion. Legion wishes only to fulfill their every need, but to what end?
Starbug is attacked by a Simulant battleship and infected with a virus which overrides it's navicomp. Lister, Rimmer and Cat use the AR machine to enter Kryten's mind, which has taken the form of the Wild West, in order to fight the virus.
Rimmer catches the crew going on a fishing trip without him, forcing them to reluctantly bring him along. However, Starbug collides with the ship of Ace Rimmer, a more popular and successful version of Rimmer from an alternate universe.
As Rimmer is taking Kryten for a driving lesson in Starbug they find themselves being whisked away through a time hole and end up on Earth, where time is running backwards.
The Red Dwarf crew pick up an escape pod containing either prison guard Barbra Bellini or a dangerous Simulant convict. They transport the pod back to Justice World where Rimmer finds himself put on trial for past crimes long forgotten.
A post pod carrying a 3 million year old bag of mail arrives and Rimmer becomes depressed when he learns his father is dead. The crew play an artificial game called "Better than life" which makes the players' wishes come true, but Rimmer's brain begins to rebel.