Plot

Stomping their way into present-day Gloucester, the Judoon are on the hunt for someone on the run. Who is this fugitive? And why are these alien mercenaries after them?

Ruth Clayton makes pancakes for her husband Lee on Monday morning He comes down to the kitchen and assures her he got her a cake for her birthday. Ruth walks to the Gloucester Cathedral and tries to convince people to go on her guided tour of the town. She calls out her knowledge of the town's trivia, and one woman comes up and asks Ruth to tell her something. The woman isn't impressed and walks off, and Ruth goes to a coffee shop and gets a latte, and the barista "All Ears" Allan says that he'd do anything for her even though she's with Lee. Allan insists that Ruth deserves better, and shows her a dossier he has on Lee. He notes that Lee claims he has family in Gloucester but there's no indication of them, and he cuts his own hair. Ruth isn't impressed and leaves.

In a spaceship far above the Earth, Judoon soldiers scan Gloucester. Their leader gives the orders and the soldiers fire an energy beam at Gloucester.

The TARDIS travels through the Vortex and Graham, Ryan, and Yasmin sit together and watch the Doctor fiddle with the console. Ryan complains that the Doctor is doing it again, looking for something for hours, and Graham asks the Doctor what she's doing. The Doctor looks up nervously and wonders how long they've been there, and Yasmin notes that they've been sitting there for 20 minutes. The Time Lord insists that she's not looking for anything but they don't believe her, and the Doctor tells them that she's looking for the Master. She figures that if the Master escaped, she could track him, but there's no sign. The Doctor explains that the Doctor left a personal message for her, and Yasmin asks if that's where the Doctor leaves them to explore but is never back when she promises. Yasmin wonders where the Doctor goes, and the Doctor says "home" on her own.

Yasmin wonders why the Doctor doesn't take them, and the Doctor rem3embers Gallifrey in ruins. She tells her companions that they ask too many questions, and Graham suggests that it's because they're worried about her. Before the Doctor can answer, Judoon chanting fills the control room and the lights flash. The Doctor explains that it's a Judoon warning transmission and the Judoon are dangerous intergalactic police for hire. She confirms that there's an enforcement field on Earth so no one can get in or out, and confirms that there's a platoon of Judoon near the moon preparing to beam down into the center of Gloucester, but it's not in their jurisdiction. The Doctor changes the TARDIS' rotational field to slip through the field.

The Judoon platoon beam down throughout Gloucester and start scanning people and then stamping their hands. An elderly woman, Marcia confronts them, and a Judoon soldier disintegrates her knitting. They compensate her for her "weapon", and Ruth demands to know who they are. The platoon leader says that they're Judoon and the residents will be cataloged. Marcia says that they won't and runs off, and disintegrates as she hits the enforcement field. The Judoon scan Ruth and report "fugitive match negative", and stamp her hand. The leader, Pol-Kon-Don, tells her that all humans within the perimeter must be cataloged because the fugitive is there.

Lee enters the coffee shop to get the cake he ordered for Ruth. Allan has the cake ready with a message on it: "You can do better." Lee asks what's the matter with Allan and grumblers about humans. The TARDIS materializes outside, and the Doctor and her companions come in. The Doctor tells Allan to keep the doors closed and not let anyone in, and Lee runs out when the Doctor mentions alien policemen. Graham stays behind to look at the cupcakes, and disappears in a burst of energy.

Lee finds Ruth and takes her home.

The Judoon break into the shop, scan Allan, and stamp his hand once they confirm he's not the fugitive. Allan says that the fugitive just left and invites Pol to read his dossier. When Pol grabs it, knocking the cups off the counter, Allan shoves him and Pol disintegrates him for "assaulting an officer".

At home, Lee tells Ruth that they have to go and insists she needs to do what he says. Ruth asks if there's something she needs to know about Lee, and Lee tells her that there's no time. Outside, the Judoon scan the flat and prepare to isolate it. The Doctor walks up and flashes her psychic papers, and Pol sees that it identifies her as an Imperial Regulator. She points out the Judoon violation of regulations, and Pol insists that the fugitive is dangerous and precautions must be taken. The Doctor says that they'll take over, but Pol insists that the mission must be fulfilled by the contracted troop. Unimpressed, the Doctor says that the regulation is overridden by local Earth law that says that the arrestee is entitled by arbitration by a third party. Pol agrees to let the Doctor go into the flat and resolve the matter in five minutes, and the Doctor notices that Graham is gone.

Graham wakes up on the floor of a futuristic control room. A voice speaks up on the loudspeaker, telling Graham not to move or he'll set off the laser spikes. Graham asks who has captured him, and his captor--Captain Jack Harkness--teleports in once he deactivates the spikes. He assumes Graham is the regenerated Doctor and kisses him.

When Ruth opens the front door, the Doctor explains the situation to her and Ruth needs to let them in. Ruth lets them in and the Doctor tells Lee about the Judoon. Lee insists that he works at Bathrooms4U, but Ryan and Yasmin see the packed bag and the Doctor asks for the truth before the four minutes run out. The Doctor scans them with the sonic and confirms that they're both human, and asks if they know why the Judoon are pursuing them.

The aliens Jack stole the ship from open fire on it, and Jack begins evasive action. He works out Graham isn't the Doctor and figures the Scoop picked up the Doctor's signal on Graham. Jack introduces himself and says that he and the Doctor go way back, and the Doctor needs to know the future of the universe is at stake. When Graham explains that the Doctor is now a woman, Jack says that he's got to see it.

The Judoon prepare to fire the Final Warning Missile at the flat.

Ryan and Yasmin search the flat and Yasmin finds an ornate metal box in a hollow behind the wardrobe. The Doctor confirms that it's not from Earth, and the Judoon fire their Missile in through the window so it lands on the floor and announces they have 108 seconds. When the Doctor confronts Lee with the box, he orders her to give her the box. Ruth demands to know what it is, and Lee tells the Doctor to get Ruth out the back while he takes care of things. He refuses to tell the Doctor what's going on, telling her it's none of her business. Lee then tells Ruth that she's the most important thing in his life and he needs to make sure she's safe, and he made a mistake.

Yasmin and Ryan offers to go out the front and distract the Judoon before they initiate temporal isolation. The Doctor figures it's their best chance to keep the block safe and takes Ruth out the back. Outside, Yasmin tells Pol that she and her men can come in as long as they turn off the isolator.

Inside, Lee looks at the box and then a photo of himself and Ruth. He sends a text starting with "follow" as Pol announces that the flat is under Judoon jurisdiction. Lee holds up his hands and surrenders, and says that Pol can tell her boss that they've got her.

Jack teleports Ryan and Yasmin aboard the spaceship, and figures that Yasmin is the Doctor. They correct him, and the ship shakes as the pursuing ships fire.

Commander Gat teleports into the flat and Pol tells her that her presence isn't required. She chats with her "old friend" Lee and tells him that she would never stop looking for him even after he faked his death. When Lee wonders how Gat found her, she points out the box and says that it was trackable. Lee takes his service medal out of it, and when Gat tells Pol to kill Lee, Pol points out that the fugitive must be teleported to the Judoon's client. Gat tells her to scan lee, and Pol confirms that Lee isn't the fugitive. The newcomer says that Lee was close to escaping and disintegrates him,

The Doctor takes Ruth to Gloucester Cathedral and asks her how long she's been with Lee. Ruth gets Lee's text and remembers a lighthouse. The Judoon surround them and Pol says that there will be no escape. The Doctor threatens to overload their guns if they don't let and Ruth go, and Pol plays a hologram of Lee's death. She then decrypts Ruth's biological shielding and confirms that she's the fugitive, In a flurry of motion, Ruth attacks the Judoon, grabs one of their guns, and threatens to kill Pol if the others don't back off. She tells the Doctor that it feels like instinct against the bullies and rips off Pol's horn, then hits her teleport unit and sends the Judoon back to their ship. The Doctor stares at Ruth in shock and wonders who she is.

When Jack confirms that there are Judoon near the Doctor, he figures their enforcement fields are preventing him f4rom getting an accurate trace on the Doctor.

The Doctor confirms that the Judoon have lowered the enforcement field and evacuated, and warns Ruth that she dishonored Pol and made it personal. Ruth doesn't know how she did any of what she did, and the Doctor doesn't the decryption for Ruth's bio shield. Meanwhile, Ruth insists that none of it was her, and asks the Doctor help. The Doctor checks Ruth's phone and discovers that the message says, "Follow the light. Break the glass." She figures there is another identity hidden within Ruth and the text is an activation message to trigger the real Ruth's instincts. Ruth doesn't want to be that person, but the Doctor tells her that she doesn't have a choice and asks if Ruth understands the message. The tour guide says that she does and remembers the lighthouse where she grew up. Ruth insists that she grew up there and her parents are buried in the land outside, and she hasn't thought about them or the lighthouse in years. The Doctor tells Ruth that they're going there.

Jack tells the companions that in a minute the ship's auto-theft nanogenes attack his body. He sets the teleport coordinates to get them back and tells them to tell the Doctor that he'll see her again and to beware the Lone Cyberman. They look puzzled and Jack realizes that they haven't met a Cyberman, and explains that they were an empire of evil that were brought down to nothing, but that could change if the Doctor doesn't listen to the message. Jack warns that the alliance sent a thing back through time. The nanogenes start attacking and Jack has to teleport away before finishing his warning. He says that they should tell the Doctor not to give the Lone Cyberman what he wants at all costs, and then disappears. After a moment, the scoop sends the companions back to Earth.

Ruth drives the Doctor and herself to the lighthouse, and talks about how her parents didn't like to be around people. Her parents left the lighthouse to her, and confirms that she moved to Gloucester in 1999. The Doctor admits that she's testing Ruth, and promises her that she's Ruth's best hope of finding out who she is and staying alive. Ruth has more memories of the message and the lighthouse, but tells the Doctor that she doesn't remember anything.

The pair arrive at the lighthouse and go inside. The Doctor looks around while Ruth gets a fire going, and the Time Lord goes up to the top of the tower. She goes out on the balcony and sonics the graves, then goes down over to the gravestone. It's blank, and the Doctor figures it's not a real grave.

Ruth sees a "break glass" button, goes over, and breaks the glass. Energy shoots out and surrounds Ruth.

The Doctor digs up the grave.

Ruth's eyes glow for a moment, and then she opens up a chest and takes out a laser rifle.

The Doctor finds a buried TARDIS in the grave: her TARDIS. Ruth comes out wearing new clothes and tells the Doctor that she broke the glass and it's all come back to her. She says that the TARDIS is her Ship and she's the Doctor: a traveler in space and time. Ruth takes the Doctor's hand and they teleport into Ruth's TARDIS. Ruth powers it up and tells the Doctor that Gat has probably figured out where they are and they need to be ready. The Doctor demands answers, saying that she's the Doctor, and Ruth figures the Doctor is in her future. Neither one of them remember being the other in their past, and they both talk in unison because they have the same brain.

When Ruth suggests that the Doctor use her sonic and doesn't recognize, the Doctor says that it can't decrypt Ruth's bioshield. She scans both of them and confirms that they're the same person, and Ruth explained that she stored the laser rifle because she knew Gat would come one day. She says that she used to work for Gat, and the Doctor figures Ruth has been hiding on Earth and used the chameleon arch to hide her identify from everyone, including herself.

A tractor beam lifts Ruth's TARDIS out of the ground, and Ruth tells the Doctor what is going on. The Judoon drag the TARDIS aboard their ship, and Ruth tells the Doctor to let her do the talking because if Gat figures the Doctor is Ruth, she'll kill both of them. She grabs the laser rifle and leaves the TARDIS, the Doctor following her, and Gat tells Ruth that she thought she'd be angry but she's just sorry. The Doctor tells Ruth to put the rifle down, and Gat agrees, pointing out that they're surrounded.

Ruth gives the rifle to Gat, who aims it at her. The Doctor speaks up, and Ruth and Gat both tell her to shut up. Pol insists that she has to take Ruth to the contractee, and Gat says that she's there on behalf of the contractee. When the Doctor tries to say who she is, Ruth says that she's nobody, and the Doctor demands answers. Gat says that it goes way higher than her, and Ruth tells her to keep quiet while Pol says that her employer's name is confidential.

The Doctor tells Ruth that she's tossing in a curveball and announces that she's the Doctor. Pol confirms her identity with a scan, and she and Ruth are identical. The Judoon demands double payment for two fugitives, and Gat says that the same Time Lord occupying the same time and space is an abomination and will destroy the time stream before the Judoon get near Gallifrey. The Doctor sonics Gat and confirms that she's Gallifreyan, and the Doctor announces that she's seen Gallifrey destroyed twice by the Daleks and then the Master. If they don't know that, it means they're in her past.

Gat figures that it's a trick, and the Doctor invites her to mind-link with her. When she does so, she sees Gallifrey in ruin but figures that it's a trick. Ruth warns her not to shoot... and the rifle backfires, disintegrating Gat. The Doctor realizes Ruth knew it would happen, and Ruth tells her not to take the high ground with her. Pol insists that a crime has been witnessed, and Ruth picks up the rifle, says it was an accident rather than a crime, and tells Pol that the Judoon ship reentered interstellar space twelve seconds ago. No one has jurisdiction in interstellar space so there are no laws and no crime.

The Doctor agrees, but says that the Doctor never uses weapons. Ruth admits that she knows and tells the Doctor to shut up, then tells Pol not to come for her again. The Doctor and Ruth leave in Ruth's TARDIS, and Ruth homes in on the Doctor's TARDIS signal. The Doctor insists that she knows her own life and Ruth can't be her, and Ruth notes that one of them have to be wrong. The TARDIS lands near the other TARDIS, and Ruth tells the Doctor to get off her Ship.

The Doctor walks to her TARDIS, and Ryan and Yasmin find her. They tell her about Jack, and in the TARDIS Graham repeats Jack's message. The Doctor warns that the Cybermen are one of the most dangerous species she's ever encountered, She says that Ruth was the fugitive but Ruth was her, and insists that Ruth has never been part of her past. The Doctor figures that time is swirling around her and something is coming for her, and warns her companions that they don't know her.

Ryan and the others say that the Doctor is the one who brought them together, and saved them and hundreds of other people. He insists that the Doctor is the Doctor, and they know who she was whoever she was in the past or future. Graham assures her that she's the best person they know, and Yasmin promises that they'll be there for her because they're her family. They'll be there at her side whether she likes it or not.

Alarms go off and the Doctor figures that her TARDIS is trying to distract her. There are three alerts coming in from three different continents on Earth, and they go for a quick look.