It's 2000, and ad executive Charles Lattimer (Mark Harmon) escapes his hectic life and waning marriage by obsessively tinkering with his elaborate model-train set. When travelling on a real train, Charles finds that a newfound antique stopwatch whisks him back in time to 1896, where he finds romance with an attractive widow (Mary McDonnell). Yet, when the watch breaks and the time portal back starts to close, Lattimer must chose between the two different worlds.