When Davros is revived and asked by the head of an Earth corporation to use his great genius to work for good ends, the Kaled scientist seems to be playing along. The Sixth Doctor arrives and insists that Davros cannot be trusted, that he is "one of – no, actually, the most evil being this galaxy has ever produced!" Forced however to work alongside his nemesis, on projects such as famine relief, the Doctor seeks to uncover Davros before he can put new schemes to create a powerbase into effect.
This story is part of a trilogy with Omega and Master to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Doctor Who. The plot concerns the Sixth Doctor's attempts to determine whether Davros is sincerely helping an Earth corporation benevolently, or if he is up to more dangerous schemes.
The story marks the first appearance of Davros in the Big Finish audios. Following his first appearance in Genesis of the Daleks, he appeared in every subsequent Dalek story in the original television series, but Big Finish initially declined to use him in any of their audio Dalek stories.
Peri is mentioned as travelling with the Sixth Doctor although she is absent from this story, "safely on the other side of the galaxy attending a botany symposium".
This story influenced the production of the four part Big Finish series I, Davros. In particular the third instalment, Corruption features specific elements of this play, including Shan.
Chronologically, this is the earliest audio drama to feature the Sixth Doctor.
An extract from this audio play can be heard on Colin Baker's official website.
To date, this is the first and only appearance of Davros without the Daleks.
The plot point of Davros being given the opportunity to commit suicide shortly after the attack which left him crippled originally appeared in the 1990 novelisation of Remembrance of the Daleks, written by Ben Aaronovitch.
