1855: The Industrial Revolution is in full and inexorable swing, powered by steam-driven cybernetic Engines. Charles Babbage perfects his Analytical Engine and the computer age arrives a century ahead of its time. And three extraordinary characters race toward a rendezvous with history -- and the future: Sybil Gerard -- fallen woman, politician's tart, daughter of a Luddite agitator; Edward "Levithan" Mallory -- explorer and paleontologist. Laurence Oliphant -- diplomat, mystic, and spy. Their adventure begins with the discovery or a box of punched cards of unknown origin and purpose. Cards someone wants badly enough to kill for...

Nominated for a Nebula Award in 1991 for Best Novel.