Emma Alice Peterson lives a very sensible life in turn of the century New York procuring rare objects for her employer, Bradley Livingston. When Emma is placed on a steamer bound for London, in search of the famed looking glass and original manuscript of Alice in Wonderland, she discovers that the novel was not a nonsensical fairy-tale at all. She is confronted by a strange man named Mordecai Hatter who appears obsessed with the lot at the auction house, a man who then later offers his business card after losing the auction with a cryptic warning. Emma's life quickly spirals out of control as her existence is put in danger shortly after the auction ends, and she discovers Mordecai Hatter might just be her only hope of survival, and that her entire life might have been an elaborate lie to save the place once known as Wonderland from a perilous end. Filled with steam powered horses, strange machines, and magic, Emma Alice discovers the Shadowlands, the place once known as Wonderland, a haunting shell of what so many knew and loved as her destiny slowly unfolds. Will Emma regain her memories before the Baroness Red and the Shadowcaster destroy what remains of Wonderland? Can she return to the life once known as Alice?