Joe Tournier, suffering from a form of epilepsy that causes amnesia, leaves the French-ruled London for the rebel land of Scotland to search for answers about his identity.

Joe Tournier's first memory is of stepping off a train in the nineteenth-century French colony of England. The only clue Joe has about his identity is a century-old postcard of a Scottish lighthouse that arrives in London the same month he does. Written in illegal English instead of French, the postcard is signed only with the letter 'M,' but Joe is certain whoever wrote it knows him far better than he currently knows himself. His search for M will drive Joe from French-ruled London to rebel-owned Scotland and finally onto the battle ships of a lost empire's Royal Navy. Is it worth changing the past to save the future-- if it costs everyone you've ever loved? -- adapted from jacket