Jago and Litefoot are joined by Leela, who's on a mission from Gallifrey (using a time ring). Being pretty much Gallifrey's resident Victorian London expert, she's been sent by Lady President Romana with a time compass, hoping to find out where the recent cracks in time have come from. The compass soon points them towards a local Bad Guy Bar for sailors, where (with a bit of coaching from Ellie) Leela infiltrates as a barmaid. (The regular barmaid meets with a bit of a non-permanent accident.) They find a young sailor named Johnny, who's got a deep fear of some sea zombies named the "Wetmen", as well as a cell phone with a direct link to a Professor Payne.
Johnny turns out to be a long way from home — about half a century, in fact. He was sent back in time from a storm that would have killed him. The rest of his crew, the Wetman, need him back, because the rip in time is causing their undeath. Johnny walks into the ocean willingly and restores the rip, but Leela's compass tells her there's much more involved than just one lost sailor.
Tropes:
- The Alleged Expert: Leela knows absolutely nothing about Victorian society except that police wear blue. She's still the closest thing Gallifrey has to an expert, since she's been there. Once. Briefly.
- At the Opera Tonight: Jago and Litefoot take Leela to the opera. Then explain afterwards that these things don't usually involve audience participation.
- Bad Guy Bar: Much of the plot takes place in one.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: Leela is very much a Fish out of Temporal Water in Victorian England, and has to be taught pretty much everything by Jago and Litefoot. Her idea of infiltrating the Bad Guy Bar is to join in the fights, claim victory over all the men, and command the patrons to help her in her quest. Jago and Litefoot manage to talk her out of it.
- Gorgeous Period Dress: Leela (again) gets some from Litefoot's wardrobe. It's much too fancy for the Red Tavern.
- Heroic Suicide: Johnny commits suicide by walking into the ocean.
- Running Gag: Leela's been taking barmaid classes from Ellie, and keeps telling people to behave, or she'll feed their guts to the dogs.
- Talk Like a Pirate: Jago and Litefoot — especially Jago — indulge in it for a bit. Jago even brings a peg leg. It doesn't take long for them to slip up, and Litefoot is exposed as a toff within minutes.
