Ace had wanted her homecoming to be spectacular. She had imagined the amazed greetings of her old friends, the gasps of surprise as she recounted her time-travelling adventures.

But Perivale on a summer Sunday seems the least lively place in the universe. The members of Ace's old gang have gone away - disappeared.

The Doctor has other things on his mind. What is killing the domestic pets of Perivale? Who are the horsemen whose hoofprints scar the recreation ground? Where have the missing persons been taken? Is the Doctor stepping into a well prepared trap? And if so, can it be the work of the Doctor's old adversary the Master?

As Harvey the grocer said to his partner Len: 'I'm telling you, you put a catflap in and you get just anything coming into your house.'
 

"Life's not a game. I'm teaching you the art of survival - I'm teaching you to fight back"

The Doctor takes Ace back home to Perivale so she can catch up with her old friends. But Perivale has changed, the old Gang has splitup, and some of them have vanished without trace. They are not the only ones - West London is plagued by unexplained disappearances.

Before long the mysterious kidnappers make themselves known. A race of galactic hunters called the Cheetah People have found a way to transport themselves to Earth - and the entire human race is their prey. They have been shown the doorway to the planet by an old foe of the Doctor, a bitter and desperateenemy who needs the Doctor's help to free him from a diabolic enchantment.

As the Doctor tries to unravel the mystery, Ace finds some of her old friends, trapped on the savage and beautiful world of the Cheetah People. But the only way she can lead them to safety is to allow herself to succumb, like so many before her to the urse of the planet. The Doctor realises that Ace's new powers will provide the only route home, but it will mean the sacrifice of her humanity to the most bestial and dark side of human nature...

Running time: 72 mins approx.

Produced by John Nathan-Turner
Directed by Alan Wareing
Cover Illustration by Colin Howard