Relaxing in Manhattan

The Doctor, Amy, and Rory, are enjoying a picnic in Central Park in New York. Amy though is annoyed by The Doctor's habit of reading a 1930s detective novel, by Melody Malone, out loud. However, when Rory goes off to get coffee Amy asks The Doctor to read her part of the story. As he reads, The Doctor tears out the last page, noting he does this to avoid endings. Continuing, they soon become concerned when to there surprise Rory turns up in the plot of the novel.

This is because Rory, on his way back to the park with the coffee, hears the sound of children giggling, as a stone cherub on a nearby fountain disappears. As Rory enters a nearby dark archway, the giggling gets closer and closer. Then Rory finds himself in 1938 New York and is met by River Song (the writer of the book that The Doctor and Amy are reading).

Realising that Rory is no longer with them The Doctor and Amy rush to the TARDIS, while in 1938 Rory questions River Song about how he got there as he was just walking under the archway in the park. River Song tells him that she has no idea. In the TARDIS The Doctor and Amy continue to read in concurrence with events in the past, as Rory and River Song find themselves held at gunpoint and taken to a Mr Grayle, an art collector. River Song explains - even though The Doctor tries but it is bounced back to 2012 - that landing the TARDIS in this time period is impossible due to the high level of time distortions. Landing in a cemetery back in 2012, The Doctor tells Amy to stop reading ahead in the book because reading the events written in it causes them to become fixed in time. Amy though ignores The Doctor as she is keen to learn about Rory's fate.

River Song

The Doctor becomes though more concerned when he learns about the presence of The Weeping Angels – Amy having read in the book that Grayle has shown River Song a damaged Weeping Angel that is part of his collection. The Doctor suddenly realises that he can use Grayle’s love of art to send a message to River Song by going back in time and have a message added to a Chinese vase. This enables River Song to activate a homing beacon that The Doctor uses to guide his TARDIS to Grayle. However, when the TARDIS arrives Grayle is knocked out. The Doctor and Amy discover Rory is missing and that River Song has been duped by Grayle and has become trapped by the damaged Weeping Angel.

Though aware of reading ahead for spoilers Amy deduces that River Song, when writing the book, would have left hints so allowing them to identify Rory's location from the chapter titles. However, as Amy races off to the basement to rescue Rory, who has been locked up there by Grayle, The Doctor finds the last chapter is about Amy's farewell and this upsets him. This prompts The Doctor to try and break the cycle of events. He therefore tells River Song to free herself from the damaged Weeping Angel without breaking her wrist, as Amy had already read this in the book and as such is now destined to happen.

Reading Melody Malone

The Doctor joins Amy and they find that Rory was locked in the basement with some baby Angels, but has since disappeared. River Song, having apparently freed herself from The Weeping Angel, manages to locate Rory nearby at the Winter Quay apartment block. But when The Doctor grabs River Songs’ hand he discovers that her wrist is broken and so the events of the book are still coming true.

At the Winter Quay apartment block, Rory is drawn to a room labelled with his name. Just before the others catch up with him they discover, at the end of the hall, a Weeping Angel that is smiling. Inside the room is an old man who calls to Amy and is revealed to be Rory's future self. Amy holds the older Rory's hand as he passes away. The Doctor sadly informs Rory this means that the Weeping Angels will send him back in time and keep him imprisoned at Winter Quay until he dies, as they have just witnessed. He also informs the others that he has deduced that the Weeping Angels have used this building many times within the populous New York as a virtually endless battery. Rory and Amy refuse to accept their fate, insisting they can run from the Weeping Angels forever. Despite trying to convince them that this will be an impossible thing to do The Doctor and River Song agree to help them escape and so attempt to distract the Angels.

Amy and Rory though are forced to the roof of the building, where they are confronted by the snarling Statue of Liberty - a giant Weeping Angel that intends to take Rory to the past. Rory though deduces that there is another way to thwart the Weeping Angel and that is if he were he to die, by jumping from the roof before the Weeping Angels take him, a paradox would be created so ending their preying methods. Despite Rory’s protests Amy opts to join him, and just as The Doctor and River Song reach the roof, the two of them jump from the roof so creating the paradox that poisons the time energy the Weeping Angels have been feeding off, thus killing them.

Rory and a Cherub Angel

The four find themselves, along with the TARDIS, back in the cemetery in 2012 New York and relieved to be alive. However, as they enter the TARDIS, Rory spots a gravestone with his name on it - moments before he is touched by a Weeping Angel and disappears into the past. Witnessing this The Doctor explains to Amy that they cannot go back as creating another paradox in New York will destroy the city. Desperate to be with Rory a distraught Amy convinces herself that if she were touched by the same Weeping Angel, she would be able to join him in the past. The Doctor tries to talk her out of it, but River Song insists she goes. Amy tearfully says goodbye to The Doctor before letting herself be touched by the Weeping Angel and so is whisked away to be with Rory once more. To The Doctor's horror and distress, the gravestone now reads Amy's name as well.

River Song tries to comfort The Doctor, knowing that he can never see Amy or Rory again. The Doctor even asks River Song to stay and travel with him. She replies that she would be willing to share adventures with him, but not travel with him all the time. Heading up to a room to begin writing the book, River Song tells The Doctor that while he may not listen to her, he may listen to Amy and that after giving her the story for publishing she will make sure Amy leaves a message for him in the book's afterword.

The Doctor suddenly remembers that he tore out the last page from the book, when they were having the picnic, and so rushes back to the park. The Doctor grabs the page and reads Amy's message; ‘Afterword, by Amelia Williams. Hello, old friend, and here we are. You and me, on the last page. By the time you read these words, Rory and I will be long gone, so know that we lived well, and were very happy. And, above all else, know that we will love you, always. Sometimes, I do worry about you though; I think, once we're gone, you won't be coming back here for a long while, and you might be alone, which you should never be. Don't be alone, Doctor. And do one more thing for me: there's a little girl, waiting in a garden; she's going to wait a long while, so she is going to need a lot of hope. Go to her. Tell her a story. Tell her that, if she's patient, the days are coming that she'll never forget. Tell her she'll go to sea and fight pirates, she'll fall in love with a man who'll wait two thousand years to keep her safe. Tell her she'll give hope to the greatest painter who ever lived, and save a whale in outer space.

As young Amelia is seen waiting in the garden for The Doctor to return for her the sound of the TARDIS is heard and as this happens Amy finishes her message to The Doctor by narrating ‘Tell her: This is the story of Amelia Pond - and this, is how it ends’.