1763. Gideon Seymour, cutpurse and gentleman, hides from the villainous Tar Man. Suddenly, the sky peels away like fabric, and from the gaping hole fall two curious-looking children. Peter Schock and Kate Dyer have fallen straight from the twenty-first century, thanks to an experiment with an antigravity machine.

Before Gideon and the children have a chance to gather their wits, the Tar Man takes off with the machine — and Kate and Peter's only chance of getting home. Soon Gideon, Kate, and Peter are swept into a journey through eighteenth-century London and form a bond that, they hope, will stand strong in the face of unfathomable treachery.