Padmé, on a diplomatic mission to Mandalore, guarantees the pacifist planet the Republic's full protection, but she and Duchess Satine soon find something sinister lurking beneath the planet's serene facade. Moogan smugglers have been sneaking in supplies, including bottled tea destined for the Mandalorian schools. To increase their profits, they have been diluting the tea with a hazardous chemical.
When the children of Mandalore are found to be getting poisoned by imported drinks, Padmé and Duchess Satine seek to uncover the cause -- an illicit smuggling ring that is cutting the drinks with a cheap toxic chemical to enhance their profits.
Though she doesn't want to believe it, Satine begins to suspect that corruption has taken hold of Mandalore's political system from within. With Padmé's help, she investigates how smuggled toxic drinks have evaded inspection and reached her planet's vulnerable school children.
Because Satine can count on the loyalty of her personal bodyguards, she tasks them with helping her investigate the mass poisoning of the children of Mandalore.
As a politician, Mandalorian Prime Minister Almec is reluctant to believe that wide-spread corruption exists under his leadership. In typical bureaucratic fashion, he suggests a committee be formed to investigate the poisonings of school children on Mandalore.
Mandalore's political system is beginning to corrode from within. Internal corruption has compromised some of its vital public health protections, allowing smugglers to deliver tainted beverages to the planet's school children.
