San Francisco, 1880. Jeremy Fantom dislikes his job as reporter for The Bulletin. He dreams of joining a circus or going to sea. That all changes when he meets Worrell the inventor. Worrell has a machine that will run forever without fuel. Or so he claims. Jeremy soon finds himself involved in city politics, crime, swindling and riots. Then the inventor's daughter is kidnapped. Jeremy embarks on a mission to rescue her and see justice done.

Miss Hollyhock is Worrell's daughter. Devoted to her father, she befriends Jeremy and reveals some of Worrell's secrets to him. She hints that powerful circles in New York are intent on suppressing her father's inventions. Jeremy Fantom writes articles for his paper about some of the wonders he has witnessed. Then he begins to have doubts, until Hollyhock disappears. He soon learns that the line between truth and humbug is not always clear cut.