The first book, The Mandalorian Armor, starts during the events of "Return of the Jedi", shortly after Jabba's sail barge is destroyed. Dengar stays with Fett after the latter's near-death experience, and encounters Neelah, a dancer in Jabba's palace who has lost her memory, and thinks Fett can help her. Kuat of Kuat, an Imperial executive, reviews footage from the Great Pit of Carkoon, leading him to suspect that Fett is still alive. It is related in flashbacks set between "A New Hope" and "The Empire Strikes Back" that Fett stole a bounty Bossk and Zuckuss were hunting on behalf of the Bounty Hunters Guild. After delivering the bounty, Fett accepted a contract to join the Bounty Hunters Guild in order to break it up. The Emperor met with Darth Vader and Prince Xizor, where the latter revealed that it was he who planned for Fett to join the guild in order to eliminate its weakest members, leaving only the best for the Empire to exploit.