A theoretical and computational study has been made of plasma phenomena occurring when a hot, dense plasma containing a transverse magnetic field is brought into sudden contact with a cold metal wall; thermal and magnetic boundary layers develop. The time evolution of the plasma temperature, pressure, the charged and neutral particle concentration, magnetic and electric field strengths, and the plasma current density in the neighborhood of the solid surface are investigated. The rate of energy transfer from the plasma to the wall is calculated, and the conditions under which wall surface melting occurs are estimated. The physical conditions previously studied experimentally by Feinberg, are calculated, and the predicted rate of energy transfer from the plasma to the wall is found to be in good agreement.