Living on the streets of Victorian London, the crippled Alonzo knows who he is and where he belongs until he is left alone by the death of his best mate. When his special talents are revealed in a Spitalfields soup kitchen, he is taken on as an assistant by the inspired Dr. Cheyne. There he finds himself tormented by the jealous and bullying Gus, and begins to hate his new life. He struggles to use his unique gifts to complete the doctor's visionary project: a device that will help thousands-and heal Alonzo's own twisted body and soul-sacrificing his principles and his pride to make his dream...

In the sewers under Victorian London, Alonzo Wright meets Tommy, a dirty, hard and streetwise little arab. When he tries to give the boy the chance for a better life, Alonzo quickly finds out it is easier to take the boy out of the streets than the streets out of the boy. Against the advice of his best mate Gus, Alonzo works feverishly to build a mechanical arm to win Tommy's trust and affection, but it all goes horribly wrong. Amidst robbery, kidnapping and mayhem in the shadow of the mysterious Dr. Jaye, Alonzo becomes The Boy in the Clockwork Web.

What would you do to mark your last summer of childhood before it's time to strike out in the world on your own? Before they go their separate ways, Alonzo and Gus have a few precious months to mess about and have some fun. Alonzo drags his mate to a fair and ends up in custody, the victim of racial profiling. If Gus is to spring Alonzo, he has to figure out one of his friend's latest inventions-and make it work. In the next story Gus finds himself aboard an airship on a mission to free the working class from their oppressors after a chance meeting with an old acquaintance. Then Alonzo shows...