1714. Daniel Waterhouse has returned to England, hoping to mediate the feud between Sir Isaac Newton and Leibniz, both of whom claim to have discovered the calculus. Meanwhile, political instability has led to the rising influence of heroine Eliza de la Zour; outlaw Jack Shaftoe oversteps the boundaries of both law and good sense far enough to narrowly escape the hangman. Reluctant hero Waterhouse prevails against these machinations and scientific reason wins the day.
