The story begins in 1863 with Ridley's conscription into the army and goes through his experience in the war leading up to his desertion. The story then cuts to his sister as she loses her father and her home and makes plans to build a ship to leave the city and start a new life. Cutting back to Ridley getting kiddnapped by pirates and stumbling into a fantasy realm where he encounters gnomes, goblins, dragons and faires all while trying to stay alive and make it back home to his family. Meanwhile Samantha builds her ship and unintentionally travels to the year 2015 where she meets a ragtag group of friends as they attempt to help her get her ship back after realizing it was stolen by an organization that want to use the ship to generate an infinate power source. Ridley is then tricked by a farie and stumbles into the undersworld. When the group finds the ship Samantha shatters the componets in a fit of panic as the city is begins to be swallowed by darkness. Meanwhile Ridley sees a hole opening up and before hellhounds can tear him limb from limb he makes it through the hole.In the end the group is interrogated by a government organization that specializes in the observation and containment of magical entities and properites and is relocated to start a new life together.