It's 1891. Almost a century ago, the Great Disruption threw all of the continents into different time periods, from prehistory to the far future . It remade the world. Explorers took their lives into their hands; mapmaking became a fine art, a mixture of science and magic.
Sophia Tims comes from a family of explorers and cartologers. Eight years ago, her parents went on an urgent mission, and never returned. She lives with her brilliant, absentminded uncle Shadrack, the foremost cartologer in Boston, who is teaching her everything he knows. Then Shadrack is kidnapped. And Sophia, who has rarely been outside of Boston. Is the only one who can search for him. Her new friend Theo, a refugee from the West, comes along. From the moment the two of them get on the train, their lives are in as much danger as Shadrack's - because he has entrusted Sophia with the most important artifact in his collection.
She has only seen the world
through maps.
She had no idea they were
so dangerous.