Sam Noel is a bright teenager who's world is filled with amazing contraptions such as massive airships that soar over the city, but all of the greatest technological wonders are over a century old. It's as if all technological advancement suddenly stopped.
The world suffers in the absence of new innovation. Factories belch so much pollution into the sky that the city's residents wear air filters whenever they go outside. Workers die needlessly in industrial accidents. Mothers risk death during child birth. Schools limit what they teach.
One day, Sam grows so frustrated that he breaks a window and runs away from school. While fleeing the city guard, he stumbles upon a technological wonder, the clockwork queen. Made during an era of great scientific advancement, the clockwork queen was built to rule whenever humans found their government falling into corruption and stagnation. Sam must help the clockwork queen gather information so she can decide if the time is right for her return.