In 1893, Jack the Ripper has killed his fifth victim... and uses his friend Herbert George Wells' time machine to travel to the year 2017. The machine is set to return automatically, and Herbert pursues his friend to New York City to put an end to his rampage. There he meets a museum curator, Jane Walker, who is taken with his charm... and a woman claiming to be Herbert's great great granddaughter.

John gives Herbert a 12-hour deadline to repair the time machine. While Herbert and Jane try to find a gem needed to restore the machine's function, John meets a neural pathologist named Brooke who is intrigued by his good looks and charm.