Promising his companion, Peri, high society elegance in fin-de-siecle London, the Doctor manages to hit the right time, but the wrong place...

The TARDIS has landed on the sun-baked veldt in the middle of a Boer War skirmish. And soon the Doctor and Peri are involved in the adventures of a struggling politician and warcorrespondent who they know is destined for greater things - a certain Winston Churchill. But mysterious forces seem to be interfering in his potentially great career...

Arriving in London, the Doctor and Peri enter high society but find themselves in a world of intrigue populated by notorious figures from Wallis Simpson to Joachim von Ribbontrop. And behind everything, the Doctor senses the hidden hand of the Players - mysterious beings who regard human history as no more than a chessboard. Can the Doctor and Peri find the right moves to defeat them - before it's to late?

Featuring the Sixth Doctor and Peri, this adventure takes place between the TV stories THE MARK OF THE RANI and THE TWO DOCTORS.