In the Victorian era, the British Empire is bustling with the energy of the steam-powered industrial revolution. Following in the footsteps of his famous family of inventors, James Ray Steam enjoys his youth in Manchester helping at local factories and stealing components for his own creations. One day, he receives a package containing a strange ball with an attached valve from his grandfather, who has been working in the United States alongside Ray's father. However, it is not long before people from the O'Hara Foundation storm into his house demanding he hand it over.

Confused and afraid, Ray attempts to flee to the home of his grandfather's colleague, Robert Stephenson, with pursuers hot on his trail. While Ray seeks to piece together the secret of the ball and discover the power it contains, it seems practically everyone in the British Empire is ready to seize it from him.