Sure, others have pulled that 20th century actress forward to make modern films with spectacular failure, each attempt spawning a branch universe unconnected to the 21st century of time traveler Det Gruber, but none of the others took into account the psychological factors in the way that Det’s employers have done.

In 1949 Los Angeles, Detective Lee Kinlaw has writer/director Preston Sturges down in the morgue. The only problem is that Sturges is still alive and well in Hollywood.

Take a pair of time-hopping con artists looking for their next mark. Add a naïve and incredibly rich young scientist waiting to be fleeced. Stir together in the volatile political atmosphere of Roman-occupied Jerusalem at the time of the Crucifixion. The result: a wickedly entertaining blend of screwball comedy and biting social satire from one of science fiction’s most honored authors.

About five years after the first two Moment Universe stories, time traveling talent scount Det Gruber heads to 1942 in hopes of recruiting young, bitter Orson Welles to accompany him back to the future.