Mackie - alternatively known as Mr Wilbur Macintyre, history teacher at a minor public school in 1950s England — is middle-aged, well-preserved, and a thoroughly closeted single homosexual. A status he accepts, until an unusual bequest from a departed colleague shakes up his life — and possibly history, at the same time.
But old Jacobs, senior science master at the school, turns out to have had insights into more than the workings of time and the physical universe. He's revealed to have guessed at Mackie's sexual orientation, and not only that but also his painful infatuation with a charming young colleague...
Just how much will be changed beyond recognition, by the strange contraption Jacobs leaves Mackie, and his travels through time?
Approximately 10,000 words.