Will is just 12 years old in 1886 when he loses both parents to scarlet fever. His Aunt sends him to Litchfield, Connecticut, where he will be the new ward of his mysterious Uncle William--rumored to suffer under a strange curse which has made him age unnaturally. On his journey, Will meets a group of young passengers whose lives will soon be inextricably entwined with his own. When Will inherits his Uncle''s estate, he obtains a wealth he could never have dreamed of, and a strange pocket-watch that is the key to his Uncle''s unusual fate. Will uses his newfound power to explore the wonders of nature, the secret lives of the townspeople, and occasionally, to satisfy his own desires. He finds himself in two separate battles-a life and death struggle with a dangerous man in town bent on destroying him, and a struggle for his very soul as he wrestles with the question: Who are we when no one is watching?