A colorful novel about an extravagant emperor of China and an English clockmaker, exploring the transience of time and the secret that only storytelling can triumph over time. The most powerful man in the world, Qianlong, the Emperor of China, invites the English automaton builder and clockmaker Alister Cox to his court. The master from London is to build clocks in the Forbidden City that reflect the different speeds of the times of happiness, childhood, love, as well as illness and death. Ultimately, Qianlong, who according to one of his countless titles is also the sole master of time, demands a clock to measure eternity. Cox knows that he cannot fulfill this outrageous request, but if he defies the will of the god-emperor, death threatens him. So he sets to work.