Mark Jacobs, a genius-level scientist and inventor and his sister, Kelly, a software designer, build a time machine by accident while working on a teleportation device. They decide to use the time machine to secure and preserve ancient treasures that have been lost to history. This first book in the series, The Portal, centers on the protagonists' attempt to recover treasure never found from the 17th century Spanish ship, the Nuestra Señora de Atocha.