The setting in this book alternates between 1970s Sydney, Australia and Victoria era (1860s) London, England. The mechanism that makes sense of this is an antique brass bed that somehow found its way halfway around the world. Thus, the contrast between times lacks the intense sense of place found in Tom's Midnight Garden or Playing Beattie Bow. It's still connected by the fact that the streets of London were the origin of most of the deportees sent to 19th-century Australia. The young protagonist, in his attempts to make sense of his experiences, makes friends with Frank, a young crossing sweeper in the past, and Clare, a bright, eager-to-research girl in his own time. The last chapter ties up all loose ends in an eminently satisfactory fashion when Clare tracks down a descendant of Frank in their own time. A school project turns up an elderly "Kilderbee" (unusual last name) who turns out to be Frank's great-grandson and still owns Frank's diary which provides all the answers about Frank's life subsequent to his momentous meeting with two youngsters from the future. ( )