Joxer (Ted Raimi) wins a hundred dinars at a gaming table only to lose it to a couple of swindlers who con him into exchanging the money for a large nugget of fool's gold. Meanwhile, the greedy gaming club owner Titus (Stig Eldred) sends his brawny son Leo (Justin Curry) and a gang of guards after Joxer to steal his winnings back. When they catch up to him, they beat him senseless before Xena (Lucy Lawless) arrives with Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor), who doesn't fight since her ankle has been reinjured, and sends them running. Xena soon finds Rafe (Patrick Fabian) and Eldon (Cameron Rhodes), the two con men who took Joxer's money and sword, gambling in a lowlife tavern. Slamming Rafe up against the wall, she demands to know how he and his partner ended up with Joxer's sword. They quickly admit they swiped the sword but deny any involvement in the beating. Eldon explains that Joxer won quite a bit of money at the club and suggests that Titus' son Leo was sent to kill him in order to recoup the club's losses. Xena insists that Rafe and Eldon join up with her to find Titus, threatening to turn them over to the authorities if they refuse.
When Leo and his men return to the club, Titus is furious to learn that they were unable to get Joxer's winnings and that he's still alive. Titus orders his son to finish the job. Meanwhile, Rafe and Eldon discover that Xena has known all along they were not responsible for Joxer's beating. Just as they're about to leave, Xena confides that she has a plan to take Titus for everything he's worth and offers to cut them in for half if they participate. The two agree to help. First, Xena and Rafe return to the lowlife tavern where they practice shooting dice. Soon they're at the gaming club and Xena is winning big, thanks to some unseen help from Rafe. When Titus is alerted that he may have a hustler in the club, he leaves his office to go check out the situation. Meanwhile, Eldon distracts the security guards and Gabrielle slips into Titus' office. When a small crash is heard inside, Titus and the guards return and discover Gabrielle hiding behind the curtains. Suddenly, Xena comes striding into the room and announces that she's soon going to own the club and everything in it, including a beautiful ruby pendant which is one of Titus' prized possessions. As Titus moves towards Gabrielle, the guards attack and a fight ensues. To Titus' horror, Xena throws the ruby pendant towards an open window and as Titus lunges for it, he drops his dagger, freeing Gabrielle. Xena quickly overpowers the guards and leaves with Gabrielle, promising Titus that she'll ruin him.
Later at the gaming club, Leo tells Titus that Xena is the woman who intervened when he and the guards were beating up Joxer. Titus now knows that they must find Joxer and use him to get to Xena. Meanwhile, Xena knows that Titus will make a move to stash the ruby someplace safe and she and her cohorts are ready when the time comes. When Leo leaves the club with ithe pendant, he encounters a wealthy-looking couple being mugged in the alley. The couple is really Gabrielle and Rafe in disguise and the mugger is Eldon. When Xena, disguised as a flowerseller, arrives on the scene, she grabs the "stolen" money pouch from Eldon who trips and runs away. When Leo grabs the pouch, offering to go get a doctor to help the couple, Xena snatches it back. She convinces him to add his valuables to it, including the ruby pendant, and to hide it in his trousers to avoid being mugged. What he doesn't realize is that the pouch Xena hands back to him is a different pouch altogether, without the money and the ruby pendant.
When Xena and the gang go back to the temple infirmary to check on Joxer, they find he is missing and fear that Titus has grabbed him. The four of them split up and soon, Gabrielle and Xena spot Joxer, who is bound and gagged and being led to a ridge at swordpoint by Leo and two guards. The women charge in and make quick work of Joxer's captors. As Xena prepares to implement the final stage of her plan, Eldon meets with Titus and offers him some inside help in going up against Xena and Rafe. That night, Xena, wearing the ruby pendant, arrives at the gaming club with Gabrielle, Rafe and their prisoner Leo to confront Titus. When Xena challenges him to a winner-takes-all game of cards and threatens to kill Leo if he refuses, Titus calls her bluff, claiming he knows the whole con they're running thanks to inside information from Eldon. A fight ensues during which Eldon, who is actually setting Titus up for his final fall, pretends to kill Rafe by stabbing him. With Rafe gone and Xena still in possession of his ruby, Titus now insists on going ahead with the winner-takes-all card game. When Xena beats Titus with four aces, he overturns the table, grabs the ruby and holds Gabrielle hostage with a knife at her throat. Rafe suddenly reappears and a furious fight breaks out. When Titus tries to escape, Xena jumps in and sends him flying.
In the end, while Xena and Rafe have developed romantic feelings for each other during the course of their time together, Rafe knows a relationship between the two can never be since Xena still has a past to make amends for. Xena, Gabrielle and Joxer continue with their travels. Rafe and Eldon do the same.
Guest Starring: Ted Raimi (Joxer), Patrick Fabian (Rafe), Cameron Rhodes (Eldon), Stig Eldred (Titus), Justin Curry (Leo), Bill Florian (Security Guard), Vikki Cottingham (Barmaid), Robert McMullen (Croupier/Dealer), Chris Sherwood (Guard #1)
Starring: Lucy Lawless as Xena, Renee O'Connor as Gabrielle
Written by Chris Manheim
Directed by Janet Greek