This is the incredible story of Daniel and Susan Evans, who live with their Mom, Dad and Great Grandmother Evans in Buffalo New York in the year 2014. After Daniel inquires about the life of his Great Grandpa to write a book report, his Great Grandma Evans tells him about his Great Grandpa Evans, and then gives him a rolled-up scroll, a very old paper with instructions from his Great Grandpa Evans whom he never met on how to build a time machine. Daniel and Susan run to the hardware store, buy all the items listed on the paper, and then sneak them up into the attic to begin working on building the time machine. After constructing the time machine, they activate it and summon Great Grandpa Evans who comes through the time machine, and takes the children from the year 2014 back in time to the year 1893 and to New York City. However, upon going back in time, Great Grandpa Evans turns back into a young man. In this time period, Great Grandpa Evans instructs Daniel and Susan to call him Charles to keep the truth about their identities from being discovered and disrupting the timeline. Daniel and Susan get to meet their Great Grandma Beatrice before she became their Great Grandma, and get to go on an adventure with their Great Grandpa and his mechanical boxing man named Ivan. They travel the rails and ride the trains to fairs with Ivan the mechanical boxing man and are chased by wild animals and befriended by Indians and find happiness and heartbreak. Along the way they meet a man named Mister Turner, and Charles combines his mechanical man boxing act with Mister Turner's Wild West fast draw act. Together, they travel to the Columbian Exposition World's Fair in Chicago. Charles and Mister Turner perform their acts together and are offered a contract to perform for a promoter named Roy Hawkins and become rich and famous. However, the following day it is discovered that Mister Turner has died from an apparent heart attack. Charles decides to buy his sweetheart an engagement ring and ask Beatrice to marry him upon returning to New York City. Charles, Daniel and Susan then go back to New York City. However, once they arrive back in New York City, Charles discovers that his sweetheart has taken ill with the flu and is very sick and his Mother has died. Daniel decides to go forward in time to get medicine and then bring the medicine back in time to help his future Great Grandmother get well. After Charles gives Beatrice the medicine and begins nursing her back to health, he decides it is too dangerous to have the children remain in his time period out of fear that they will contract the flu as well, and sends them forward in time and back home. Upon arriving home and back to the year 2014, Daniel and Susan's Mother, Father and Great Grandmother are waiting for them.