In Cross Now, during a blazing row with his boss, strangely enough architect Michael Ponsford still gets his promotion. However, he does not get much time to enjoy it, because, in the middle of the argument, his boss suffers a heart attack. And he is not the only one to die. Ponsford is haunted by death: the woman with whom he had been flirting for too long, his wife's father, one of his competitors, they all succumb. Finally, Ponsford's young son also dies.

The TARDIS materialises in Earth's future on a space beacon just before it is attacked by pirates. The travellers find themselves trapped in a sealed section of the beacon. It is blown apart and flown to where the pirates will plunder it of the precious mineral argonite. They witness a conflict between the pirates and the Interstellar Space Corps, led by General Hermack and Major Warne. The ISC are convinced that the pirates' mastermind is an innocent yet eccentric space mining pioneer named Milo Clancey, while their true leader is a man named Caven. Caven has a secret base on the planet Ta. He is assisted by Madeleine Issigri, daughter of Clancey's ex-partner Dom, who - unknown to her - is now his captive. When Madeleine discovers Caven's full treachery, she helps to bring him to justice. The time travellers are given a lift back to the TARDIS by Clancey in his rickety old ship, the LIZ 79.