It's Manchester 2179 where people are living in floating homes and travel in flying cars.Four children are exploring some Victorian houses, that are to be demolished, when they come across an unusual stone which catapults them back to the nineteenth century.Here they experience the horror of life for Victorian children. They encounter unsavoury body-snatchers, villainous overseers, and murderous gangs. Finding themselves in difficult and dangerous situations they wonder if they can survive.Why are they here and who, or what, is the mysterious force guiding them? And, above all, can they get back to their own time?