Three decades ago, the Augur of the Temple Sect prophesied the birth of a seer with an unmatched ability to predict the future. But a lot can change in thirty years. With the death of the railway, the invention of the automobile, and shifting political landscapes, the time when ancient sects governed the course of history has long since passed. The people have more important considerations. The Senator Kirrykirk seeks to one up her rival, while the Augur grasps at straws to bolster the fading reputation of his order. In a tiny, dilapidated railway station, a young woman runs away from home, while a short distance up the road, a young man sleeps, unaware that his life is about to crash down around him. In the capital, three scholars of the University of Braecliffe simply look to complete their doctorates and ruffle as few feathers as possible along the way. Little did the historians know, however, the significance of what they would find - for though the three looked to the past, the future, too, looked back.