H. G. Wells (Malcolm McDowell) is both an author and inventor living in Victorian England who has created a machine that can travel through time. But when it is discovered that his old friend Dr. (David Warner) is actually the notorious serial killer Jack The Ripper, the killer steals Wells' machine and escapes to the future. Wells gives chase, and finds himself in 20th Century San Francisco, where he meets Amy Robbins (Mary Steenburgen). With her help, he tracks the fugitive through the streets of the city.