Hired by Mr. Griffin, who needs his help in stealing a dangerous machine from mad clockwork scientist Lord Havoc, Thaddeus Sharp, who has devoted his life to hunting and killing clockworkers, is delighted to take on this dangerous mission.
In a clockwork Brittania, Alice's prospects are slim. At 21, her age and her unladylike interest in automatons have sealed her fate as an undesirable marriage prospect. But a devastating plague sends Alice off in a direction beyond the pale.