To finance a fur coat for Her Grace Gloriana XII, and to finally get modern plumbing installed in the castle, the Count of Mountjoy applies to the United States for a modest loan of $5 million, on the pretext of financing a space program for the Duchy to internationalize the space race. He is more than gratified by the response. The Count's visions of mink-lined bathtubs disappear, however, when Her Grace's consort, Tully Bascomb, undiplomatically insists that money given for a space program should be used for a space program. And with a Pinot-derived rocket fuel in the offing, it seems that all of Grand Fenwick has its eyes on the Moon.