The story so far: two thousand years ago, Susan Mendes destroyed the Daleks that had invaded her galaxy, but even as her destructive psionic pulse scoured through the Dalek command net, blowing apart the galaxy in the process, they were searching for a way to stop it. The survivors of the Great Catastrophe have long since forgotten the cause of the disaster, and now the Daleks have returned -- with an offer of help for the Border Worlds, which have been quarantined by the Galactic Union following an outbreak of a mysterious neurotransmitter failure syndrome. Giorgi Selestru, the Galactic Union’s security commander, has reason to suspect that the Daleks are not all they seem, but the Border Worlds have cut off all ties with the Union, and the Union Council refuses to authorise an investigation. Selestru thus sends an agent named Galanar on a covert operation to find out what’s really going on in the Border Worlds...

Galanar decides to begin his investigation in the Scalanis system, one of the first places to report the NFS plague; this is where Siy Tarkov, the man who warned Selestru about the Dalek threat, contracted the disease. Galanar books passage aboard a passenger liner heading for Scalanis V, under the guise of Dr Dennis Grentram, a graduate of Planet 9’s Academy of Medicine. On board the liner, he meets a woman named Japrice who seems impressed by his claim that he abandoned a thriving medical practice in order to provide humanitarian aid in the Border Worlds. Galanar is aware that Japrice has been tailing him ever since he crossed the border -- but he doesn’t yet realise that she’s working with the Daleks...

Back in the Galactic Union, Selestru explains the unfortunate political situation to Siy Tarkov. Relations between the centralised Union and the frontier Border Worlds have always been strained, and now, due to the plague, both sides have a perfect reason to avoid contact with one another. As a result, the only thing anyone knows about the Daleks is that they’re apparently trying to find a cure for the plague. The Union Council, wary of devastating the galaxy with another war, won’t act without positive proof of a threat; and the Borderer Confederation won’t let anyone through to Velyshaa to find the proof they need. For now, Selestru has all he needs from Tarkov, and as Tarkov’s case of NFS plague is in remission, Selestru allows him to go home. However, Tarkov now learns that he’s been away for much longer than he imagined. Shaken, and finding it hard to concentrate due to the ringing in his head, Tarkov stumbles back to what was once his home, where he apparently finds his wife Elicia waiting for him; however, the woman doesn’t appear to recognise him at first. Disoriented and delirious, Tarkov collapses, and the woman tends to him -- and reveals that she is his daughter, Amur, all grown up.

Meanwhile, a team of Daleks has arrived on Graxis Major, apparently to investigate recent deaths that the Wardens are well aware were caused by the Daleks themselves. When the Daleks begin to extract information from the Wardens’ data stores, young Sergic tries to stop him -- and is exterminated without mercy, to the horror of his fellow Wardens. Provost Carneill, upset, nevertheless insists that the Daleks have full authority to act as they see fit, and recommends that the Wardens be confined to quarters to prevent further “incidents.” Saxton demands an explanation, and Carneill explains that the Daleks are helping the Borderer Confederation to develop Variant 7, a cure for the NFS plague. Carneill’s entire family has died of the plague within the past year, and he has become convinced that the Union’s lack of progress in finding a cure is a deliberate attempt to keep the upstart Border Worlds in their place. The Daleks claim to be acting for the good of all mankind, and at this point, Carneill seems willing to believe anything.

The Daleks tire of Carneill’s attempts to justify himself, and order the Wardens to return to their quarters. First, however, Saxton insists that they be allowed to bury Sergic, and when even Carneill supports this as a basic human right, the Daleks reluctantly allow the Wardens to conduct their meaningless human ritual. As Kaymee, Saxton, Culver and Telligan dig the grave, they discuss the Daleks’ twitchiness and the fact that there only seem to be about six or seven of them on the planet, and conclude that the Daleks may not be as strong as they’d like the Wardens to think. Once the grave is dug, Saxton begins to eulogise her fallen comrade, but their Dalek guard does not understand the purpose of the speech and demands that they bury Sergic as quickly and efficiently as possible. Saxton defiantly finishes her eulogy in the face of the Dalek’s increasingly hysterical threats, and only after she’s finished praising Sergic’s life does she allow the others to bury his body.

Carneill is becoming concerned by the Daleks’ attitude towards the Wardens, whom they perceive as a threat; the Daleks are here to destroy what the Wardens are pledged to protect, and the Wardens have already destroyed one of their kind. Carneill tries to assert his authority, insisting that the Wardens are under the protection of the Confederation, but it’s clear that the Daleks will be calling the shots here. The first Dalek scout had finished preparing the tectonic probes before it was destroyed, and the Daleks are ready to activate them and do to the Graxis system what they have already done to Scalanis. Carneill, who had been unaware of this, is disturbed to learn that the Daleks have apparently been receiving reports to which he has not been privy -- and as he leaves to explain the situation to Saxton, the Daleks activate the tectonic probes and begin to plan their own strategy for dealing with the Wardens...

The Daleks have separated the Wardens; Culver and Telligan are in one room together, and Kaymee and Saxton are in another. Kaymee and Saxton fear that Carneill may be desperate enough to risk anything, even the Wardens’ lives, if it means an end to the NFS plague; however, Saxton hopes that if she can summon the rest of the patrolling Wardens back to the shack, a show of strength will convince Carneill to back down. Saxton notes Kaymee’s sharp appraisal of the situation, and admits that she knows Kaymee cheated on her job application by quoting her own grandmother’s. Before she can explain why she accepted Kaymee’s application anyway, Carneill arrives to brief them on their situation. Saxton cuts through his attempts to prevaricate, and he is forced to get straight to the point: as part of their strategy to end the NFS plague, the Daleks intend to geoform the entire Graxis system, wiping out the entire native ecosystem. The appalled Kaymee tells Carneill that the native primates are evolving into a sentient species, and Saxton, furious, attacks Carneill, forcing him to call in a Dalek for protection. Carneill orders Saxton to summon back her Wardens so they can be reassigned to new duties by the Confederation, but despite his assurances, Saxton fully believes that the Daleks will kill her without hesitation if she disobeys orders. Carneill retreats, promising to give her time to reconsider, and while the Daleks prepare to bring food for their captives, Saxton begins to plan her escape.

Elsewhere, Galanar wakes from a disturbed sleep to find that someone activated the sleep inducer in his cubicle on the transport ship, and that he’s not where he expected to be. A friendly old woman named Mevis prepares coffee and breakfast for him as he tries to get his bearings, and he soon determines that he’s still in the Scalanis system somewhere. Japrice then contacts him and informs him that he’s been recruited. She still believes him to be a doctor who gave up a cushy practice in the Union in order to do some real good on the front lines of the NFS plague -- and that’s just what he’ll be doing, albeit in a different capacity than he anticipated. As Japrice shows him to his new home, the Daleks are monitoring Galanar closely to determine whether he poses a risk to their plan. The patients in this Healing Zone are about to start receiving doses of variant 7, and once the final trials are complete, mass production will begin in the new Graxis Healing Zones. Meanwhile, Japrice shows Galanar to the Healing Zone, a vast city built on the surface of the formerly uninhabitable Scalanis VIII. Japrice is not yet willing to tell Galanar how this was constructed, but starts him off slowly by showing him to the new arrivals unit, where they sort out victims of the plague from those who have had contact with victims but are not themselves infected. Galanar is shocked by the suffering he sees in the unit, and comes to wonder if the Daleks can really be so bad if they’re offering to end this horror...

Back on Graxis Major, Kaymee eats the rations that the Daleks have provided while Saxton keeps an eye on their guard. Eventually, Saxton makes a break for it, and Kaymee has little choice but to follow. The Dalek pursues them to the communications room, where Saxton tries to send out a warning to the other Wardens; however, the Daleks jam communications before she can do much more than call them back to the shack. Telligan and Culver hear the commotion and seize the opportunity to break out. The Daleks withdraw from the shack, giving the Wardens access to the armoury -- but the Daleks then open fire on the shack from the outside, and despite Carneill’s protests, blow the building apart. When Carneill later analyses the wreckage, however, he discovers that there’s no trace of the Wardens’ bodies. However, his pilot, Antani, realises that Carneill hasn’t decided whether or not to inform the Daleks that the Wardens escaped...

The Wardens have escaped via the shack’s service and maintenance tunnels, but they are all feeling the effects of the blast; Culver has hurt his leg, and Kaymee’s headache has returned. Saxton realises that she’s horribly underestimated the Daleks’ willingness to kill, and fears that she’s summoned her people back into an ambush. The survivors emerge from the tunnels, but the other Wardens have already passed the entrance and are nearing the remains of the shack. Fortunately, another truck is lagging behind, and Saxton rushes up and demands that the surprised Wardens Roozell and Chauley let her use their radio. Even as Chauley reveals that their communications are being jammed, however, they hear the sound of Dalek gunfire in the distance. The other Wardens have walked straight into the Dalek ambush, and not a one of them survives.