Description
1855: The Industrial Revolution is in full and inexorable swing, powered by steam-driven cybernetic engines. Charles Babbage perfects his Analytical Engine and the computer age arrives a century ahead of its time. Three extraordinary characters race toward a rendezvous with history: Sybil Gerard — a fallen woman, politician's tart, daughter of a Luddite agitator; Edward "Leviathan" Mallory — explorer and paleontologist; and Laurence Oliphant — diplomat, mystic, and spy. Their adventure begins with the discovery of a box of punched Engine cards of unknown origin and purpose. Cards someone wants badly enough to kill for.
Part detective story, part historical thriller.