1681. Sir Isaac Newton, turning his mind piercing space and time to the ancient art of alchemists, receives Philosophical mercury - the primary source of matter, the key that initiates the interaction of the four elements: earth, air, fire, water. France and England are waging a brutal war, and Louis XIV orders the use of a new, mysterious weapon called “Newton’s gun.” And on the other side of the world, a young printer’s apprentice named Benjamin Franklin accidentally, unwittingly, lifts the curtain that hides a dangerous secret. He has a mortal enemy: he is being pursued by either a scientist or a sorcerer. Ben has no choice but to flee to England. Only Newton himself can help him. Who will help Newton? He is not the first to know the secret of Philosophical Mercury; he had predecessors. Beings who despise both science and humanity in equal measure want to get rid of both objects of their contempt...