The crew of the Aurora decide to go on a tour of the United States. They meet up with a young boy, Al, who they find is mechanically inclined and partially deaf. They also discover he is an incredible mechanical genius, having recreated the design of the Cardinal's Chariot (from The Cardinal's Design).

Phileas Fogg comes into possession of a single black glove covered with Cabalistic symbols. The glove, it turns out, is being hunted by two men: a mysterious Cabalistic sorcerer named Vargas, and a Chinese mystic, Zai Chao.