"They're Menoptera," the Doctor exclaimed, "and this must be Vortis! But why are you treating them like this? They're a peaceful people, not slaves! What's been happening here?"

Many years have passed since the Doctor's first visit to the Web Planet, and he finds a very different world from the one he knew; a world now embroiled in a bitter interplanetary war between the opposing factions of a divided race.

To restore peace, the Doctor must first resolve a deadly ideological conflict, solve the paradox of the nature of life on Vortis, and finally confront the Gods of Light themselves.

As the stakes are raised, can the Doctor contain the ancient terror that threatens to devastate an entire star system?