It's the winter of 1890. Tom Copper, a graduate student at NYU, spends his evenings working as a clerk in his mentor's rare book and antiquities shop on the south edge of Washington Square. Longing to some day to leave the book shop and see the world, Tom's wish to travel beyond the Hudson is granted - when a seemingly ordinary artifact turns up at the shop along with a mysterious offer from a secretive mining tycoon to purchase it for an exorbitant amount of money. Boarding the 9-0-9 transcontinental special, Tom sets out across a young nation to the Colorado Rockies - alone and on his own for the very first time. And so began the journey to Mulligan's Peak - a story spanning three eras and thousands of years in the making. The adventures he will encounter are many - but the ultimate test will come as Tom grapples with his own self-doubt and the stunning revelations he will discover along the way.