For best friends Jeff Williams and Ben Styler, the Williams's attic is a perfect refuge from the wrath of Jeff's older sister, Abby. The trains Jeff's dad left behind when he disappeared three years ago are a great way to goof off-until a sudden crackle and a flash of light reveals Benjamin Franklin, in the flesh. Thus begins an adventure that will threaten not only the boys' lives, but the modern world as they know it. To save democracy from a disastrous fate, Jeff and Ben must spin back the centuries to save General George Washington from death at the Battle of Brandywine Creek.