"Never guess, with a man like the Doctor."

After their disastrous escape from the Forge, relations are strained between the Doctor and Evelyn. She feels that some time apart wouldn't be a bad thing and the Doctor finds a seemingly perfect spot. The planet Vilag.

The world is about to take the first steps toward unification, with an arranged marriage between kingdoms. And not before time, as the Doctor knows the Killorans are on their way, intent on invasion. But the alliance will be strong enough to resist them. Won't it?

With love in the air, the Doctor waxes lyrical to the wrong man. While the alliance crumbles around them, the Doctor and Evelyn must struggle to keep things together before the Killorans arrive in orbit, or Vilag could end up a smoking ruin.

This is not the most impressive play Big Finish have ever produced. While the story itself stretches over a period of a couple of months, it seems incredibly slow in places, with nothing much at all happening over the first two episodes. Then the events of weeks are summed up in a matter of seconds!

Following on directly from the Sixth Doctor segment of Project: Lazarus, this forms part of the ongoing arc featuring the Doctor and Evelyn. It focuses especially on Evelyn's illness and in that respect it does a good job.

The story features little of the main characters usual banter and they spend much of the time apart from each other. Maybe that is one of the weaknesses of the plot as these two are stronger together, but it is necessary in the circumstances.

The best of the non-regulars are the oldest and youngest members of the cast. Gabriel Woolf (better known to Who fans as Sutekh the Destroyer) gives an impressive turn as world-weary politician Governor Rossiter. And Katarina Olsson is excellent as Princess Krisztina and by the end the listener cares about her almost as much as the Doctor, who takes on the role of her mentor.

Author Paul Sutton is new to Big Finish's Doctor Who range and while this play isn't going to set the world on fire, there is some promise. I will be interested to see what he comes up with next, as often a new writer comes back stronger with a second play.

Reasonable, but not outstanding.