When Gareth Quentin tumbles from his world into that of Victorian Britain, he learns about a far more advanced society. On his return, he founds his own Great Western Railway but his more pastoral era is far from idyllic. There is a thriving slave trade and his success motivates several people to become dangerous enemies. His family, including his daughter Brunella, are all at risk of abduction, or worse, at the hands of the devious Inigo Fossett and the homicidal actor manager, Sebastian Fronk. But there is an even greater cold-blooded adversary who travels from that other more modern world and she is prepared to murder in her own interests.