The Cosmic Laundry Basket is a science-fiction book set in the future with humans living in space. Jed has a holiday job at the Cosmic Laundry Basket and is very jealous of his friend, Spike, who is working as a waitron on one of Galactron's shuttles. Jed's job at the laundry turns out to be depressing. However, through a series of strange events, Jed's boring job turns into an adventure. Then his dream comes true: he too becomes a waitron on a shuttle!