James-Cyrus Hoffmann has just inherited his grandfather's farm, and with it a mysterious cabin deep in the woods on Hoffmann mountain; a cabin he has dreamed about since childhood. When James-Cyrus enters the cabin, he is vaulted back through time to the Civil War era, where he meets Elizabeth, the brave young woman who lives in the cabin, and Malachi, a runaway slave.

James-Cyrus realizes his dreams of the cabin were visions of the past, and that Elizabeth is his great-great aunt--a woman who vanished without a trace from the family tree. He also learns of his ancestors' pivotal role in the lives of runaway slaves who were offered a safe haven at the cabin, a station on the underground railroad.

Cora Spellmacher, James-Cyrus's elderly friend and neighbor, begins to unravel the secret of how he is able to make his fantastic leaps back and forth through time. In doing so, Cora begins to hope a tragic wrong from her own past can be righted, and that she can regain something precious that was lost to her many years earlier.

James-Cyrus realizes Elizabeth and Malachi are in terrible danger. With Cora's help, he undertakes a daring plan of rescue that promises to rewrite his family history and change all of their lives forever.