When the TARDIS arrives on the swamp planet of Vulcan, the newly regenerated Doctor and his now untrusting friends encounter some problems; the Doctor is mistaken for an official come to solve the Earth colony’s in-fighting, and soon he and his companions are embroiled in political wranglings. However, a far more serious threat lurks within the colony. The scientist Lesterson has discovered a crashed space capsule, within it a group of inert metallic creatures that the Doctor identifies as Daleks. Refusing to heed the Doctor’s warnings, Lesterton supplied power to the Daleks and revives them.