Viola has always felt like she doesn't belong. With her mother halfway around the world, her sister away at school, and her father as her only friend, she keeps to herself and only dreams of becoming an artist. The last thing a lonely fourteen-year-old girl wants for her birthday is to spend time with an old woman she doesn't even know. And she certainly doesn't want to travel 544 years back in time to a place she's only read about in books. Armed with Idan, a mysterious pocket watch, she must navigate the perilous city to find a way home before she falls victim to the threats of Lorenzo the Magnificent. For a girl that has a hard time meeting people, Viola manages to befriend the famous artist Leonardo da Vinci and gain the affections of the handsome Giuliano de' Medici. To get back home Viola must find her voice and tap into her artistic abilities while she works in an artist's workshop and encounters the enchanting work of some of the Renaissance's most amazing artists.