Once upon a time Jack set out to find his fortune in the big city. But the big city is Toy City, formerly known as Toy Town, and it has grown considerably since the good old days. It isn't all that jolly any more, and there is a serial killer loose on the streets who is slaughtering old, rich nursery rhyme characters one by one. Meanwhile, Private Eye Bill Winkie has gone missing, leaving behind his sidekick Eddie Bear of the Toy City Police to take care of things. Eddie may be a battered teddy with an identity crisis, but someone's got to stop the killer. Eddie and Jack team up to take down the killer, and along the way participate in heavy doses of bad behavior, car chases, and plenty of gratuitous sex and violence.

There is big and evil magic upon the face of the Earth, and history has consequently been changed. The Germans have won World War II; America is a nuclear wasteland; and worst of all the breakfast menu at The Wife's Legs Café in Brentford is serving bratwurst rather than the proper British sausage. When the world is all wrong and it needs setting right, the only hope left is Hugo Rune, a man who offers the world his genius and asks only that his expenses be covered. Hugo, also known as the hokus bloke, the Lad Himself, and the Retromancer, sets out to rewrite history the way it should be, with the aid of his faithful acolyte and companion Rizla. Together they return to war-torn London to solve the 12 cosmic conundrums based upon Hugo's personal tarot deck, each mystery leading them closer to a final terrifying confrontation. They must match their wits against beautiful spies, advanced alien technology, killer robots, and death rays; do battle with an ancient god; and come face to face once more with Hugo Rune's arch-enemy, the sinister Count Otto Black.

Somewhere over the rainbow and just off the Yellow Brick Road stands Toy City, and things are not going well for the city's inhabitants. There have been outbreaks of STC?Spontaneous Toy Combustion?and there are strange portents in the Heavens. The preachers of Toy City's many religions are predicting that the End Times are approaching and that a Toy City Apocalypse will soon come to pass. With the body count rising and the forces of law and order baffled, it is time for a heroic duo to step forward and save the day. Eddie Bear, Toy City Private Eye, and his loyal sidekick Jack must face their biggest challenge yet: to save not only toykind, but the world of mankind too.

There is big and evil magic upon the face of the Earth, and history has consequently been changed. The Germans have won World War II; America is a nuclear wasteland; and worst of all the breakfast menu at The Wife's Legs Café in Brentford is serving bratwurst rather than the proper British sausage. When the world is all wrong and it needs setting right, the only hope left is Hugo Rune, a man who offers the world his genius and asks only that his expenses be covered. Hugo, also known as the hokus bloke, the Lad Himself, and the Retromancer, sets out to rewrite history the way it should be, with the aid of his faithful acolyte and companion Rizla. Together they return to war-torn London to solve the 12 cosmic conundrums based upon Hugo's personal tarot deck, each mystery leading them closer to a final terrifying confrontation. They must match their wits against beautiful spies, advanced alien technology, killer robots, and death rays; do battle with an ancient god; and come face to face once more with Hugo Rune's arch-enemy, the sinister Count Otto Black.

A great and sinister conspiracy exists to keep mankind from uncovering the truth about its past.  The Victorian authors and artists, for instance, did not simply dream up their various fantastic futuristic fictions; instead, their ideas were all based upon fact. The war of the worlds was a true account of real events; Captain Nemo's Nautilus even now lies rusting at the bottom of the North Sea; and there really was an invisible man. Furthermore, Queen Victoria had a sexual relationship with Dr. Watson, the elephant man was a product of an E.T./human hybridization program, and Jack the Ripper was a terminator robot sent from the future. In actuality, a cabal of Victorian Witches from the Chiswick Townswomen's Guild?working with advanced Babbage super-computers?rewrote 19th-century history. But now a 23rd-century boy called Will Starling has uncovered the truth about everything.

Developers are planning to destroy Brentford's beloved soccer grounds. Something must be done, and the men of The Flying Swan?Brentford's celebrated drinking house?take up the challenge. Norman has recently discovered a Victorian computer that holds the secrets of the super-technology of a bygone age, and Archroy has just returned from his seventh voyage with the fabled Golden Fleece. Surely, with these stalwarts working for the cause, the field is as good as saved. But this is Brentford, and the ancient forces of evil?Old Testament horrors, beasts from the bottomless pit, and Lovecraftian demons?are stirring.

Having been thrown from Brighton Pier by the leader of The Canvey Island Mod Squad, the hero narrowly escapes drowning thanks to the Perfect Master, the self-styled Logos of the Aeon?not to mention the reinventer of the Ocarina?also known as Hugo Rune. The hero has lost his memory, and in desperation he agrees to join The Lad Himself in the solving of 12 mysteries based upon The Brightonomicon, the new zodiac signs formed by the alignment of Brighton streets. Together they must find the Chronovision before it falls into the wrong hands and affords ultimate power to the would-be world dictator Count Otto Black.