Where is John Smith? What has happened to him? The quirky inventor claimed to have developed a time machine, and now he has vanished without a trace. Justus, Peter, and Bob begin their investigation and discover a lab notebook and a strange machine that bears a striking resemblance to a dentist's chair in the inventor's houseboat - a time machine? The detectives soon find out that Smith must have actually catapulted himself to the year 1864, but now he cannot return without outside help. Quick action is needed; the detectives must get the time machine working again - the only way to bring Smith back to the present! However, they first need to solve a tricky keypad puzzle, as the inventor wanted to ensure that no wrong person could get their hands on the time machine. With the help of encrypted clues...