Mickey Barnes and his friend Timo are financially destitute after a failed business venture, and on the run from a loan shark. Unable to pay their debts, the pair sign up as crew for a space ship that leaves Earth to colonize the planet Nilfheim — Timo as a pilot and Mickey as an "Expendable". As an Expendable, Mickey is treated as disposable and given lethal assignments, since every time he dies, he is "reprinted" using cloning technology that has been banned on Earth. During the voyage, Mickey develops a romantic relationship with Nasha Barridge, a security agent.
