It is 1636: five years after a West Virginia town from the year 2000 arrived in Germany in a flash of light and altered the course of history. Now, down-time master artist Daniel Block is troubled. No mention or proof of his name or life work, of which he has long been proud, made it through the Ring of Fire; it's as if he never existed. What can a talented and proud artist like him do, to make sure this new world remembers him long after he's gone? Daniel develops a plan to make himself one of the greatest artists the world has ever known, and he's willing to do whatever it takes to see his dreams fulfilled. Even if it means risking himself, his wife, and his children. Intent on changing his own history, Daniel journeys to Grantville to learn about these Americans and their wild and outrageous art forms. But while there, he runs afoul of the up-timers' strange attitudes - and the law. What follows upends seventeenth century art, threatens the emperor, and changes Daniel and his family forever.