Nandi was a former Companion who knew Inara Serra on Sihnon before they both left the planet.
Nandi gave up her life as a Companion—having concluded that it was too restrictive—to become a brothel madam, overseeing common whores on one of the outer planets. When Petaline, one of her girls, became pregnant with a local landowner's son, she called Inara to see if the crew of Serenity could help against the baby's father, Rance Burgess. Nandi and Malcolm Reynolds had a brief relationship, which upset Inara deeply, before Nandi was killed during a gunfight with the Clone Troopers led by Bly
.