Edinburgh in 1902, a historic city on the precipice of modern progress, is not an easy place for an inquisitive orphan, and twelve-year-old Malcolm McKenzie knows he’s lucky to have an apprenticeship with the local clockmaker, Jack Alexander. When Jack is found dead inside a locked clocktower, Malcolm’s life begins to unravel. Even worse, Jack’s son and Malcolm’s best friend, Peter, is stricken with a mysterious and life-threatening illness.

Malcolm is sure that both the truth behind Jack’s untimely death and the map to a miracle cure for Peter lie inside a seemingly broken watch Jack had been unable to fix. As the clock ticks away on Peter’s life, Malcolm and fellow orphan and pickpocket Maddie must outrun and outsmart those who want the cure to remain hidden as they race through the streets and clocktowers of Edinburgh to solve the puzzle of the watch before it’s too late.