The story begins with an assembly of men in their usual discussion group; the group consists of an assortment of different classes of men with, somewhat, conflicting political and philosophical views on society. One of the characters at the discussion group, who refers to himself as I, is retelling the whole story to the reader. The protagonist of the story, known to the reader as "The Time Traveler," opens the discussion on the first night with the possibility of manipulating the fourth dimension, time. The group expands conversation on the idea with some similar and some conflicting notions. The discussion itself soon elaborates into a heated deliberation