As a child, Jules Verne witnesses a bizarre exchange: a man acquires a mysterious astronomical object called an astrolabe… Twenty-eight years later, Verne takes off for America in search of inspiration. But during the ocean crossing, he discovers that a savant named Orpheus may be connected to what he saw as a child. He resolves to follow the man across the Great North. What can Orpheus be up to? And what could the astrolabe be for? Verne will have to face countless dangers to find out.