A test of the world's first time machine ends in disaster when it falls short of its target, mistakenly plucks up an army officer about to go into battle with General Custer and brings him into a world 142 years in the future where he must cope with a strange and bewildering world.The scientists involved in the project must deal with the shock of their mistake, hide the officer from the press, and figure out what to do with him. To complicate matters, professional spies and a couple of local small time crooks enter the picture in an attempt to steal the time machine plans to sell to foreign powers.Every turn in the story leaves all the characters wondering 'now what?' until the climatic showdown with the scientists, the spies and crooks, the officer and his future... filmed live by a persistent reporter.