It begins winter 2041 at a research facility in Canada, where a group of scientists has just unlocked the secret of time travel. Their discovery has the potential to change the world for the better. But scientists, though often brilliant, are not infallible; and one among this group holds a sadness and desperation that could wreak havoc. A sadness and desperation that could be exploited.

Or does it begin on the eve of World War II, a hundred years before the scientists’ discovery? In Southern California, two Japanese men – one a humble shopkeeper, the other a spy deep undercover – unknowingly hold the keys to the outcome of the War, an outcome well-remembered and fortunate, but fragile. Oh so fragile.

Or does it begin in 1871, when a Texas Ranger dogging his quarry west discovers a dark secret… a secret that destroyed an entire town and could decide the fate of two wars as well as the entire planet?

Welcome to San Guillermo, Arizona, population 211. Give or take 211…