Des has a daydream in which he sees countless suited, bowler-hatted humanoid duplicates marching out of the Bingleton Borough Council, as the Town Hall itself is consumed by fire. After having been woken by Netta, Des receives a visit from Miss Griffin, who bullies the repairman into mending her broken bag, and then criticises the shabby clothes he wears. Put out by the woman's mocking comments, Des decides to go out for a walk, and eventually meets up with Jim for a Chinese meal. However, as the two friends discuss Des' premonition, speculating that the Xux may have infiltrated the Town Hall, they suddenly spy Mr Horsley outside, acting somewhat suspiciously; deciding to investigate, Des and Jim follow the clerk through the back streets until they arrive at a disused pickle factory. Unbeknownst to Des and Jim, Horsley's nephew, Simon, is using the old building as a studio, where he is busy reconditioning some old shop dummies by painting them with interesting faces – including that of his uncle – so that he can then sell them on to interested department stores. However, when Des and Jim see the mannequins, they immediately believe that they have stumbled upon a Xux factory that is creating evil duplicates in a plot to take over the world…