Maks and Lena have always thought that nothing interesting happens on their street. But ever since Mr Botwinka moved into the old yellow house on the corner, everything changed. Mr Botwinka had a long beard, liked to sing strange songs under his breath and every morning he walked on a leash.... a cactus. Yes, a cactus in a pot! The whole neighbourhood talked about him in whispers, but Maks and Lena decided to find out for themselves if Mr Botwinka really was as strange as everyone said. One sultry afternoon, as a thunderstorm rolled over the town, the children saw Mr Botwinka lose something on the pavement. It was an old silver watch on a chain. Maks picked it up gently and together with Lena ran after their neighbour to give it back to him. However, when they crossed the threshold of his house, quite unexpectedly the door slammed behind them and hundreds of shiny mechanisms swirled in the air. The interior of the house looked completely different from what they had expected. Instead of the usual furniture, there were bizarre clocks standing everywhere - some ticking, others beeping and others seeming to tell time.... backwards! In the middle of the living room, Mr Botwinka was just opening a big book with lots of pictures of different eras - dinosaurs, knights, robots and sky ships. When Maks and Lena entered, the man looked at them with a smile and said: - Ah, perfect! You have brought my time guide. I cannot travel without it. - Travel... where? - asked Lena, still holding on to the door handle. - Just TAM! - Mr Botwinka pointed to a huge golden clock standing in the corner. - If you are brave travellers, we can try it together. The children looked at each other. At the same moment, the hands of the clock started spinning like crazy and the world around them trembled. They felt as if they were falling through the vortex of time - through forests full of dinosaurs, through medieval castles and futuristic cities. When everything finally came to a halt, they found themselves in a square where strangely dressed people peddled strange objects and the air smelled of unfamiliar spices. Mr Botvinka stretched and said: - Curious to know where we are? It's time to go exploring... - But then a tall figure in a cloak blinked around the corner, looked straight at them and moved towards them.