The opening episode kills Spike's past lover and leaves him broken on a ship that will never catch up to his debts. Every episode after that is a man learning to stop running, shot through with jazz that understands loneliness better than dialogue ever could. The show knows it's saying goodbye before you do, and by the finale you're the one who can't let go.

In 2071, humanity has settled planets across the galaxy, and those new societies are plagued by murder, drugs and theft. Spike Spiegel and Jet Black earn a modest living as bounty hunters, chasing outlaws through space aboard their ship, the Bebop. Behind his goofy, aloof manner, Spike is haunted by a violent past, while Jet wrestles with troubled memories of his own and looks after both Spike and the ship. The pair are soon joined by Faye Valentine, a beautiful con artist and gambler who is badly short of money, Edward, a strange child with a genius for computers, and Ein, a bioengineered Welsh corgi. As the crew bond and pursue a colorful array of criminals, a threat from Spike's past intrudes on their lives. Cowboy Bebop blends action and adventure with science fiction and drama.