If the reader of Greenglass House was intrigued by the house’s various elements and wants some background to the house itself, this may be the book for them.

In September 1810, Lucy Bluecrowne’s father bought a huge house on top of a hill overlooking a river. There her father planned to keep Lucy, her Chinese half-brother Liao, and her Chinese step-mother Xiaoming safe while he was off at sea. However, this was not to be. A pair of time-travelers looking for a conflagrationeer and a special ironmonger / weapons maker put Lucy and Liao in harms way.

The time travelers go back and forth through time wheeling and dealing with a supplier for their evil buyer/employer. If they fail, they will suffer greatly in reputation and physically. Then there are the innocents – Liao and Lucy who might not want to travel time for crooks.

As the story weaves in and out of time various features of the Greenglass house are recounted, to the reader, and why the features are in the house in the first place.