First of all, here is the ENTIRE story. The planet Naboo, a peaceful planet, is at odds with the Trade Federation over taxation (so they say). In reality, the Federation is being controlled by Darth Sidious for reasons which are never really explained in this first episode. The Federation wants Queen Amidala, leader of the Naboo, to sign a treaty recognizing Federation control. She refuses to sign it, and the planet is invaded. The Federation accepts a negotiating team from Coruscant, but freaks out when they discover that this negotiating team, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, are Jedis. Actually, Qui-Gon is a Jedi Master, and Obi-Wan is his apprentice. The Federation leaders notify Darth Sidious, who in turn orders the quick death of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. The attempt to kill them fails, however, and the two escape in a transport to the planet surface. Unfortunately, they land a long distance from the capital city of Theed, so they have to make there way to Theed by any means possible while being chased by the battle droids of the Federation. While on the run, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon literally run into Jar Jar Binks. Jar Jar is a Gungan, an aquatic race native to Naboo that really doesn't get along to well with the human race. They talk Jar Jar into helping them out, and he reluctantly takes them to the main underwater city in a lake nearby. Jar Jar was exiled from his race previously (for being an idiot, apparently) and all three are taken before Boss Nass, leader of the Gungans. He agrees to help Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan reach Theed, but he sentences Jar Jar to death for returning from his exile. Qui-Gon talks Boss Nass into letting Jar Jar join them on their journey to Theed, and he agrees. Obi-Wan doesn't particularly like Jar Jar, and questions Qui-Gon about it, but Qui-Gon senses that Jar Jar will prove useful in the near future. Meanwhile, on Tatooine, Anakin Skywalker and his mother, Shmi, are slaves to Watto, a junk dealer who loves to bet on pod racing, a semi-legal sport which is very popular but has a high mortality rate. Most humans lack the skills to be able to effectively compete, but somehow young Anakin, at only nine years old, has the ability. A pod race happens, and Anakin almost wins, but loses to some last minute cheating by another racer, an alien named Sebulba. Also, unknown to Watto, Anakin is working on a newer, faster pod racer. He is also building a protocol droid, which will become C-3PO. He doesn't let Watto that he is making these because he knows that Watto will confiscate them. Back on Naboo, Jar Jar pilots a craft through a series of underwater caves, natural shortcuts to travelling on Naboo. Jar Jar NEVER shuts up, and he gets on Obi-Wan's (and my) nerves quickly. When they reach Theed, they quickly fight several battle droids before rescuing Queen Amidala and her entourage. She doesn't want to leave her people on Naboo to fight the Federation alone, but everyone convinces her that she should go to Coruscant to plead their case to the Senate. Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, Jar Jar, Amidala, her handmaidens, and some of her staff escape from Naboo onboard one of her transports. They barely escape from the Federation. During the battle, Jar Jar won't shut up (once again) and gets into mischief, messing with some maintenance R2 units, one of which is R2-D2. In escaping the Federation, they take some damage to their ship, especially in their hyperdrive. They go to a nearby planet, Tatooine, in hopes of getting their's fixed. They land on the outskirts of Mos Espa, the main city of Tatooine. Qui-Gon wants to blend in with the otherworldly nature of Mos Espa, so he takes Jar Jar and R2-D2 with him into the city. Queen Amidala insists that one of her handmaidens, Padme, joins them as well. In Mos Espa, they meet Watto, who has the hyperdrive unit which they need, but demands a price for it which Qui-Gon can't match, so he needs to find a way of paying for it. They also meet Anakin, who senses great things about Qui-Gon and Padme. Qui-Gon, in turn recognizes the potential in Anakin and performs a Midi-Chlorian test, a biological test measuring force-sensitivity. He transmits the results to Abi-Wan, back on the transport, and finds out that Anakin's readings are the highest ever encountered (even higher than Yodas). Anakin also warms to Padme, sensing that, in the future, he will marry her. She likes him as well, but doesn't know what to make of his predictions. Meanwhile, Darth Sidious questions the leaders of the Federation and finds out that the Jedis escaped with Queen Amidala. He needs the treaty signed by her, so he dispatches his apprentice, Darth Maul, to find her and the Jedi. He tracks the Queen's ship to Tatooing. He lands far out from Mos Espa and sends out Sith probe droids to scour the countryside looking for Amidala and the Jedi. Anakin and Shmi are eager to help Qui-Gon get his hyperdrive. Anakin offers to have Qui-Gon underwrite him in the next pod race, using Anakin's new hot rod racer. Qui-Gon can't find another way to get the hyperdrive, so he agrees to it. He works out a deal with Watto (I'll leave out the long details of the deal) that will make it that, if Anakin wins, Qui-Gon can get the hyperdrive. Unknown to anyone else, Qui-Gon also asks for the freedom of Anakin and Shmi if Anakin wins. Watto agrees on freeing Anakin, but insists upon keeping Shmi. Qui-Gon agrees. The pod race happens, sponsored by Jabba the Hutt. It's long and exciting, and Anakin finally beats his rival, Sebulba. Unknown to anyone, Sith probe droids have watched the race as well, and Darth Maul starts making his way towards the city. Qui-Gon gets the hyperdrive and tells Anakin and his mother about Anakin's freedom. Anakin senses that he is destined for major things in his life, but is reluctant to leave Shmi, but she encourages him to leave, knowing that he has a greater destiny as well. The party goes back to the transport. On the way, they are attacked by Darth Maul. Qui-Gon and Darth Maul get into a quick lightsaber duel before they manage to (barely) escape. The party manages to go into hyperspace before Darth Maul can get back to his ship, so Maul heads to Naboo while the others head for Coruscant. On Coruscant, Amidala meets with her representative in the Republic Senate, Palpatine. He says that the Senate will probably not respond adequately to Naboo's needs, and that they may have to take Federation control for now, something that Amidala finds to be unacceptable. Palpatine proposes that Amidala push for a leadership change in the Senate, as a new leader might prove to be more responsive. She agrees, and goes before the Senate. Her speech isn't well received, and beaurocratic red-tape ensues, so she pushes for a leadership change. After some events, Palpatine is elected the new leader of the Senate. Meanwhile, Qui-Gon (with a skeptical Obi-Wan) takes Anakin before the Jedi high-council. He wants Anakin to be trained as a Jedi, but they balk at the idea. Traditionally, Jedi training starts when candidates are one or two years old, not when they are nine. They sense that Anakin, at nine, already has too much fear and anger in him. Qui-Gon presses the issue, asking that Anakin become his new apprentice (a slap in the face to Obi-Wan, who is a bit insulted at being dismissed to easily). Qui-Gon says that Obi-Wan is ready to go it alone. The council agrees to test Anakin, and they do. Queen Amidala decides that she wants to return to Naboo to fight, something that her people historically avoid. Talking to Jar Jar, she learns about the Gungans and what an army they can become. She decides to enlist their aid upon her return. When the Jedi council learns of her decision to return to Naboo, they assign Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan to protect her. They agree, taking Anakin with them. Anakin continues to meet with Padme, and their friendship blossoms. They manage to return to Naboo, only to find that the Gungans have been driven from their underwater cities by the battledroids. They have found a hiding place in the forest, and Jar Jar (still not shutting up) takes the party to them. Amidala discusses joining with Boss Nass and the Gungans, but Boss Nass is still pissed at the humans because the humans have traditionally treated the Gungans like idiots (which, in my opinion, they are). Padme steps forward at this moment, revealing that SHE is, in fact, Queen Amidala. The fake Amidala is actually one of her handmaidens acting as a decoy queen, allowing Padme to interact more freely with her people. Padme acknowledges the Gungans and their worth, and strikes a treaty with them. They all agree to battle the Federation. The plan that Padme comes up with involves reaching and capturing the heads of the federation, who are now stationed in Theed. The Gungans will do a frontal assault against the battle droids, allowing everyone else to sneak in and try to capture the Federation heads. They also plan on capturing the main space fighter hanger, allowing Naboo fighter pilots to recapture their ships, take off, and attack the main Federation ship blockading the planet. They hope to take out this ship because the center for controlling the battle droids is on that ship. Destroy the ship, and you render the battle droids ineffective. The Gungans attack, using sheer numbers and relatively primitive weapons (ewoks?) against the more technological Federation. Jar Jar, for his part in bringing the Gungans and the Naboo together, is made a general in the army by Boss Nass. Unfortunately, Jar Jar does not die. Instead, he provides comic relief (grrrr...) during the battle. If you get the sense that I don't much care for Jar Jar, you would be very perceptive. Meanwhile, Padme (Amidala), Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Anakin, R2-D2, and other Naboo fighters, invade Theed stealthily. After some battles, they reach the main fighter hangar, and the Naboo fighters get into their ships. Qui-Gon brought Anakin along so that he could personally protect him, but he has Anakin hide behind a Naboo fighter with R2-D2. Suddenly, at one end of the hangar, Darth Maul appears. Immediately, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan engage in lightsaber battle with him. The fighting gets intense, and Anakin gets separated from the others, so he climbs in to the Naboo fighter for safety, and R2 assumes the position in the back of the ship. No sooner have they gotten inside, but the autopilot kicks in, and the ship takes off to join with the other ships in the space battle occuring overhead. Padme, with other freedom fighters, moves on through the main complex, trying to reach the Federation leaders. They eventually get captured, but not before Padme can get off a message to the fake Amidala. When brought before the Federation leaders, the fake Amidala also appears, causing confusion. In this confusion, Padme gets some pistols and captures the leaders. She immediately starts negotiating a NEW treaty with them. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon have their hands full with Darth Maul. Qui-Gon is a master, but he is getting old. Obi-Wan is fast, but lack experience. Darth Maul is a fighter in his prime: fast, well trained, and well disciplined in the dark side of the force. He also has an intense hatred of Jedi feeding him energy, so he more than easily holds his own against both opponents. The battle is intense, and leads deeper into the complex. Darth Maul turns and runs deeper into the complex, Qui-Gon gives chase, followed by Obi-Wan. Suddenly, all three are caught in an area which separates all three of them by timed barriers, whose function isn't really made clear, except to provide a means of separating the combatants. After a short while, the barriers disappear for a few moments, allowing Qui-Gon to engage Darth Maul in battle. However, the barriers go back up before Obi-Wan can join them, and he is forced to watch as Darth Maul eventually kills Qui-Gon. The barriers go down, and Obi-Wan fights Darth Maul. Obi-Wan manages to cut Maul's lightsaber in half, turning it into a regular saber. Darth Maul eventually disarms Obi-Wan, sending Obi-Wan's lightsaber into a melting pit of some sort. Using Qui-Gon as his inspiration, Obi-Wan does some force moves, calls Qui-Gon's lightsaber to him from across the floor, and kills Darth Maul, sending him headlong into the pit. Meanwhile, up in space, Anakin and R2 are in the thick of a huge space battle. Using his amazing skills at understanding controls, Anakin figures out how to pilot his ship well enough to survive. After a few near death experiences, he gets hit, sending his ship spiralling into the main hangar bay where he kind-of crash lands. Trying to figure out what to do, he fires a couple of torpedos down an open corridor, triggering some massive explosions. Getting his ship going again, he manages to fly out of the ship. Soon, out in space, all of the Federation fighters, which are robot controlled, stop flying and are quickly destroyed. On the surface, the battle droids stop moving. The Gungan army, which was close to destruction, finds itself victorious. The Good Guys Win! What next? Why, a celebration, of course! The title of Jedi Knight is conferred upon Obi-Wan for beating a Sith lord in battle, and they give him Anakin as his apprentice. The body of Qui-Gon is cremated, and there is a victory celebration on Naboo. That's the bare bones story. Obviously, there are many more details in the book, but that's pretty much it.