Bel Riose, a general in the Imperial Army, meets with Ducem Barr, the son of Onum Barr on Siwenna. Riose is looking for more information on the “Magicians”, of which Barr has studied for decades since Hober Mallow visited his father, and tells Riose there are no magicians, only Hari Seldon’s psychohistory, which predicts the fall of the Empire.
After returning from the Foundation, Riose tells Barr and intends to challenge the “dead hand” of psychohistory by starting a war to conquer the Foundation.
On Trantor, Brodrig meets with Emperor Cleon II who are both concerned with Riose’s request for reinforcements and his conquest. Cleon sends Brodrig to observe. The war against the Foundation has started and Riose has already made great strides using the strategy of an enclosing sphere, but Barr is still convinced of the inevitability of the fall of the Empire as predicted by Seldon.
After the start of the Riose’s war, he captures a Foundation trader named Lathan Devers who he holds captive along with Barr for information about the Foundation. Devers insists that psychohistory is just a story that no one really believes.
Brodrig arrives on Swienna and questions Barr and Devers. Beforehand Devers had devised a plan to bribe Brodrig and pit him against Riose, however, it’s ultimately Devers who’s bribed with 100,000 credits for information about why Riose might want to conquer the Foundation. Devers tells him that it is because Riose wants to capture the secrets of transmutation.
Later, Riose becomes impatient with Barr and Devers thinking that they’re withholding information from him, but Barr catches him unaware and hits him with a bust of Cleon II and they make their escape to Devers’ ship
During their escape, Barr takes a message intended for Riose which includes the line “THE ULTIMATE ENDS IN VIEW WILL SURELY BE GAINED.” They believe that if they can give this message to Emperor Cleon then it would be proof that Riose and Brodrig are planning to overthrow him, so they make plans to go to Trantor.
Their plan is unsuccessful as they try to bribe contacts who will get them an audience with Cleon, but run into an undercover agent, which they are forced to kill to escape Trantor with only their lives.
They are able to escape, but when they think that their plan has failed, they read the news that Riose and Brodrig have been recalled and arrested.
Back at the Foundation, they realize it was the natural forces that were predicted by psychohistory rather than their actions. The empire’s ability for conquest has been eliminated since weak generals are ineffectual and strong generals will be suspected by emperors. And so, once again, the dead hand of Hari Seldon shows the inevitability of the fall of the Empire. The only remaining threat is the possibility of the second Foundation.