Two stories separated by 1400 years. After losing his mother in the midst of a war-torn country, an Iraqi child, learns the importance and power of patience by discovering the historical story of Lady Fatima and her suffering.

Orbiting a quiet backwater planet, the massed forces of the universe's deadliest species gather, drawn to a mysterious message that echoes out to the stars. And amongst them, the Doctor. Rescuing Clara from a family Christmas dinner, the Time Lord and his best friend must learn what this enigmatic signal means for his own fate and that of the universe.