As the battle on Namek turns the entire planet into a fireball, Goku and Freeza fight it out to the end and Goku makes a fateful decision. Goku, Earth's ultimate warrior, and his son, Gohan, must face new deadly enemies who wish to obtain the Dragon Balls to destroy the Earth.

In keeping with the original Japanese format, this book reads from right to left. "In the original Japanese edition, Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z are known collectively as the 42-volume series Dragon Ball. The English Dragon Ball Z was originally volumes 17-42 of the Japanese Dragon Ball."