The year is 1588. Ships of the Spanish Armada, one of the most magnificent fleets ever to set sail, are wrecked off the west coast of Ireland. Maximo, a young Spanish sailor, hides from English soldiers in an ancient portal tomb, on a farm in County Galway.

Two Hundred and Sixty Years Later …

In 1848 Ireland, thirteen-year-old Séamus O’Flaherty is living through the Great Famine. His family are facing eviction and a journey on a ‘coffin ship’ to America. Séamus discovers Maximo hiding in the ancient portal tomb behind his cottage and is astounded to find that he has travelled back in time to 1588 – two hundred and sixty years before!

Back again in 1848, after a perilous experience, he learns from Florence Darlington, daughter of the local landlord, that the portal tomb is a gateway to the past. Together they slip through time on a daring mission to rescue Maximo from possible execution.