Bernice Summerfield is adamant to avoid facing her 30th birthday, but her students and Traveller friends know this cannot pass and "kidnap" her from her dig on the planet Heaven to ensure she has the best day of her life. Benny is taken to a makeshift tennis court mowed in a field by the Travellers, where the group tries to get the knack of the sport from scratch. This gives dejected Benny the happy experience she needed, and helps her attain possible insights on her future.