Cargan, a recent graduate of the Academy on Gallifrey, and his flippant robot companion Orb, experience a power drain of their TARDIS and land on the planet Minatorius. Minatorius is a planet of plentiful energy with no wants. Orton, the Chief Elder, offers Cargan unlimited power to recharge his TARDIS, but Cargan discovers all the planet's energy is drawn from the ether, draining power from the energy that binds matter together. Acknowledging the Time Lords' policy of non-intervention, Cargan realises he must act and this power drain must be stopped. Cargan is killed and his TARDIS destroyed by the feedback created, as Orton secures his people's survival by stopping Cargan.