JACK IS A YOUNG, recently separated man living in the city of Chicago. The year is 1997 and for some time now he has felt a growing sense of alienation for the era in which he lives and with the culture and people that surround him. One morning, on the way into the office, he is involved in a violent bus crash and suffers a blow to the head. The injury somehow unlocks an innate ability within Jack to travel thru time. His first encounter sets him back two weeks, where he has to come to grips with this new reality. He eventually arrives at work in time for an office party that he recalls already took place in the past. However, this time he modifies his behavior to affect a more pleasing outcome with a new co-worker and love interest. Still struggling to control and understand his new abilities, Jack attempts a leap further back in time to the 1970s to visit with his long dead, grandfather (Doc). Upon arriving at the family farm, Doc takes him in for the night and proceeds to share details about Jack's ancestry, including tales of his great-great grandfather, David Ogden (an old Cherokee ex-slave and farmer in West Virginia). This time Jack chooses to make the jump even further back in time to the late 1800s, just after the Emancipation Proclamation. He misses his target initially, distracted by watchful eyes, tracking his every step. He eventually makes his way to the old West Virginia farm and similarly encounters his more distant ancestor. Later, after narrowly escaping the noose of a roaming lynch mob, Jack attempts to leave this era for the sake of everyone's safety including his own. He is soon pursued by both the watching eyes and by a local mob. Still a novice to his newfound talents, he carelessly attempts his escape. But this time there is no clear plan in mind for his journey. Jack then appears in a cold, dark cell located in the Russian prison camp of Darnitza (1940s). Here he suffers brutal beatings and interrogation at the hands of soldiers who believe him to be an American spy. It is here that he makes first contact with Marcus (another time traveler – but also one of Alexander the Great's generals) who tells Jack that it is his submission to fear that has led him to this prison. Jack is offered the choice of either returning home (provided he swear to never use his abilities again) or join up and learn the ways of the Cadre of Timefarers (an ancient order of time travelers). Jack chooses to join and accepts Marcus as his mentor. The next night they execute their escape from the forced labor camp, first by getting past the perimeter gates, then by mentally creating the gate" of light that allows the Cadre to appear in any time and place of their choosing. Their escape almost fails as Jack is still learning to control his emotions. At last they arrive in mid-1600s Dublin, Ireland and find shelter at the Brazenhead Inn (a common meeting place for members of the Order). Here, Jack recuperates from his injuries, however it is becoming now more apparent that an evil presence is drawing ever closer to him. Knowing full well that Jack is not yet prepared for this encounter, Marcus introduces him to Redmond O'Hanlon; an Irish revolutionary and highwayman. Over the following months, Redmond instructs Jack in the art of combat with the blade and even takes him on a few roadside robberies at night. It is on the last night that Jack first comes face to face with the evil, Philotas (Marcus' son) who up until this point carries powers far beyond all others in the Cadre. He is also a shape shifter, carrying within his being, the presence of an old Ogre King, whose mission is to bring an end to all of mankind.
