Somewhere outside space and time there waits the Celestial Toymaker, an enigmatic being who ensnares unwary travellers into his domain to play out his dark and deadly games. Separated from the security of the TARDIS, the Doctor is forced to play the complex trilogic game with the evil magician. Meanwhile, Dodo and Steven must enter into a series of tests with, among others, the schoolboy Cyril and the King and Queen of Hearts.

Geoffrey Beevers reads this exciting novelisation of a classic TV adventure for the Fourth Doctor. The Doctor is suddenly summoned to Gallifrey, the home of the Time Lords, where his ghastly hallucinations of the president’s assassination seem to turn into reality. When the Doctor is arrested for the murder, a hideous, dark, cowled figure is gleefully watching in the shadows. In a battle of minds, the Doctor faces renegade Time Lord the Master inside a nightmare world created by his old enemy’s imagination.

When young Mel’s business partner, Sabalom Glitz embarks on yet another “get rich quick” scheme, it marks the start of an epic, death-defying murder-mystery in space. After barely escaping the snares of a murderous galactic cult, Mel searches for fellow survivors in a nearby spaceship graveyard – while Glitz looks to fill his pockets. But the discovery of a spaceship with its crew in suspended animation, and incredible secrets on board, leaves the duo stranded with no way off. Mel revives the crew – and then the murders start.

On the serene planet Deva Loka, an expeditionary force from Earth is dangerously out of control. It's not only the peaceful race of the Kinda who are at risk. A gentle stroll in the lush jungle leads the Doctor and Adric to an unexpected confrontation - and puts them at the mercy of a maniac. But it is Tegan, lulled to sleep by mysterious wind-chimes, who comes closest to a danger than threatens not only her sanity but the existence of the whole planet.

When the Doctor and Ruby arrive on Cavia, they meet a gentle local who is certain that she has been taken for study by creatures from the stars. The Doctor is concerned to find mysterious meteors appearing in the sky, while strange robotic creatures crowd the forests, watching everything and waiting for… what?