The Stones of Venice ( audio story ) Publisher ' s summary . The Doctor and Charley decide to take a well - deserved break from the monotony of being chased , shot at and generally suffering anti - social behaviour at the hands of others . And so they end up in Venice , well into Charley ' s future , as the great city prepares to sink beneath the water for the last time . . . Which would be a momentous , if rather dispiriting , event to witness in itself . However , the machinations of a love - sick aristocrat , a proud art historian and a rabid High Priest of a really quite dodgy cult combine to make Venice ' s swansong a night to remember . And then there ' s the rebellion by the web - footed amphibious underclass , the mystery of a disappearing corpse and the truth behind a curse going back further than curses usually do . The Doctor and Charley are forced to wonder just what they have got themselves involved with this time . . . Plot . Part 1 . Duke Orsino of Venice asks the whereabouts of a woman , named Estella , from Churchwell , who claims no knowledge . Churchwell tells him that Estella won ' t vindicate the city ' s current predicament , but Orsino remains firm as the end is near . In the TARDIS console room , the Doctor is taking Charley to the Venetian Renaissance in the sixteenth century . As the Doctor talks about the beauty of Venice , he realises that they ' ve landed in the twenty - third century instead . The Doctor remarks that this isn ' t the best time for Venice as there ' s not much left of it . The Doctor and Charley exit the TARDIS and the former explains that soon , the city will fall into the Adriatic Sea . He tells her that they should stay around and watch the city crumble into the water , but Charley doesn ' t really want to . The Doctor then notices a female local and she tells him that they will all die . As the Doctor asks her why is she staying around , she asks if he is always this impertinent . Charley apologises for the Doctor ' s behaviour of forgetting " good manners and introductions " and introduces herself and the Doctor to her . The woman introduces herself as Eleanor Lavish and the Doctor tells her that he ' s simply curious and asks why is she staying where it ' s about to be destroyed . Eleanor replies that she is too old to be gallivanting and refuses to leave her home . Charley then scolds the Doctor for bringing her to a mopey place where everyone wants to die , but the Doctor states that Venice has always been sinking for a long time . Eleanor scoffs at this and says that " the curse " will destroy Venice . The Doctor and Charley ask her what the " curse " means , but Eleanor walks off , saying out loud that they might meet up again soon when the sinking starts . The Doctor encourages Charley to " poke around " , but then wonders if there ' s a transport . Meanwhile , Orsino points out that there are masses of people gathering for the final carnival , but Churchwell insists that they must protect the treasures otherwise people will die in the next twenty - four hours . Orsino , despondent to do anything , refuses to move any piece of art out of Venice before it ' s too late and orders Churchwell to attend the carnival while he still can . After reluctantly agreeing , Churchwell requests to see Orsino ' s gallery one last time . Charley then changes her mind about leaving because past or future , it ' s still Venice and still beautiful . The Doctor is happy to hear that she ' s enjoying herself and decides to snooze . Charley jokes that the Doctor always sleeps on judgement days just when a man named Pierto appears . Pierto reminds Charley what is happening and that the revellers are taking over the city . The Doctor wakes up and tells Pierto that he and Charley are here to pay their respects as the city falls . Pierto respects them for that and the Doctor asks to be taken to the museum to admire the paintings when Eleanor spies on them . She utters to herself that the Doctor and Charley are part of some sort of cult , hoping that the city would rise again to its former glory . Charley goes with Pierto to another section in the gallery while the Doctor runs into Churchwell . Churchwell tells the Doctor that he is in the private part of the gallery while the Doctor recognises him as Francis Churchwell , who is saddened that all the art is going to rot in the sea soon . Churchwell then decides to give the Doctor a deluxe guided tour as he is amazed by his intellect . Charley talks with Pierto and wants to know more . Pierto then takes Charley somewhere private . Suddenly , some people in black robes walk by and Pierto and Charley hide from them . Pierto informs her that they are the Cult of Estella , lead by High Priest Vincenzo , who tells his men to search for something . As they head out , Pierto tells Charley that they have a hidden base somewhere . Meanwhile , the Doctor and Churchwell examine paintings that were part of the Duke ' s grandfather ' s collection . As the Doctor expresses sadness that the paintings will be lost , Churchwell says that he has lost all hope and will seal himself in the vault with the paintings when the city sinks . The Doctor asks why the Duke has lost interest , to which Churchwell answers that the Duke ' s beloved and last queen of Venice , Estella is longer here . There was no recorded painting of her because her beauty was ineffable . Churchwell then tells the Doctor that there is a Cult of Estella , which is convinced that the people hoard Estella ' s likeness somewhere here . Because they worship her in their infernal ceremonies , they believe they have a claim on such an object . The Doctor then realises that it ' s been a hundred years have passed and the Duke has been living this long and all are convinced that Estella is dead . Churchwell explains that it ' s part of the Duke ' s curse to live so long and regret his loss . The Doctor then notices a painting that depicts volcanoes and the foxes in overcoats and finds it familiar . The Doctor then tells Churchwell that there might be a way to get the paintings to safety - - the TARDIS . As the Doctor thinks of this , he sees that Charley is nowhere in sight and calls out to her . Churchwell proceeds to tell the Doctor that Estella was gambled away in a game of cards by the Duke . Some say Estella committed suicide thereafter by flinging herself into the Grand Canal in her wedding dress . Before dying , it is believed that she laid a curson on him . Meanwhile , Pierto tells Charley about Estella and the Duke and at night , he sends his spies to look for her , hoping to bring her back to life and end the curse . Pierto informs Charley that the revellers are waiting for Estella to return and in order to distract him , she will need to act as a decoy . The Doctor and Chuchwell continue their search for Charley , but now it ' s very dark outside . Suddenly , the Cult of Estella runs into them . Vincenzo announces that tonight is the eve of the anniversary of Lady Estella ' s death . He orders the Doctor and Churchwell to be knocked unconscious as they are to be the witnesses of her resurrection . Part 2 . " to be added " Part 3 . " to be added " Part 4 . " to be added "