In this, the first adventure of his third "incarnation", Doctor Who, Liz Shaw, and the Brigadier grapple wth the nightmarish invasion of the Autons - living, giant-sized, plastic modelled "humans" with no hair and sightless eyes. They are waxwork replicas and tailors' dummies whose murderous behaviour is directed by the Nestene Conciousness - a malignant, squid-like monster of cosmic proportions and indescribably hideous appearance.