Stardate 1329.1: The Enterprise beams out the crew of a small freighter whose engines are overloading. The captain, a man who calls himself Leo Walsh, is accompanied by three attractive women, who enchant the male members of the crew. Leo Walsh's actual name, however, turns out to be Harcourt Fenton "Harry" Mudd, against whom there are a number of charges. In the meantime the Enterprise is heading for Rigel XII to acquire lithium crystals to replace the ones that burnt out during the pursuit of Mudd's ship. Mudd contacts the miners on that planet and proposes to sell the three women to them. At this point no one knows that the women are taking so-called Venus drugs that restore their beauty. On Rigel XII, Ruth and Magda are happy to marry two of the miners, while Eve reluctantly stays with the third one, Ben Childress. She is unattractive again after not taking the drug. Kirk and Mudd beam down again to get hold of the crystals eventually, and give Eve pills that quickly make her look beautiful again. But it is just a placebo, and still has much the same effect.

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