The Fracture · Book One

Remember Lot’s Wife

He asked God for peace. The answer came in 1599.

One ordinary night, a fracture in spacetime tears Tommy from modern Colorado and leaves him in rural Elizabethan England. Jane Holloway, a wary young widow, offers him shelter—and a life he never knew he was searching for.

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The story

Synopsis

Torn from Colorado in 2026 and cast into rural England in 1599, Tommy awakens in a world shaped by hard work, faith, and customs far removed from everything he knows. Jane Holloway has survived years alone on her small holding, and the impossible stranger in her field gives her every reason to be cautious. Yet compassion leads her to offer him shelter.

With no history he can safely explain and no certain way home, Tommy must learn how to live without the technology, freedom, and identity he once took for granted. His unfamiliar speech, unusual knowledge, and unexpected skills draw curiosity from the surrounding village, while Jane risks her livelihood and reputation by allowing him to remain beneath her roof.

As shared work, prayer, and the quiet rhythm of the holding draw them closer, each begins to discover something the other believed had been lost. But the fractures in time are returning, Tommy’s presence is attracting dangerous attention, and the possibility of going back forces him to confront whether home is the place he came from—or the life now unfolding before him.

The Fracture: Remember Lot’s Wife — Book One
© Thomas J. Allen, 2026. All Rights Reserved.

Explore the setting

Maps of Jane’s holding

Step inside the Gloucestershire holding at the heart of the story, from its gardens, barn, and orchard to the rooms of Jane’s cottage.

Illustrated map of Jane’s holding showing the cottage, gardens, well, barn, chicken coop, goat pen, fruit trees, and entrance gate — Exterior mapJane’s HoldingOpen full-size map

Illustrated floor plan of Jane’s cottage showing the kitchen, fireplace, table, root cellar, Jane’s room, and maid’s quarter — Interior mapJane’s CottageOpen full-size map

Meet the characters

The lives at the heart of the story

From a man displaced by four centuries to the people who slowly make an unfamiliar world feel like home.

Portrait of Tommy, also known as Seth Grayson

Protagonist · Colorado, 2026

Tommy / Seth Grayson

A thirty-six-year-old web designer, musician, and ordained minister whose search for peace ends with an impossible journey into Elizabethan England. Resourceful, devout, and fiercely loyal, he must learn how to live in a century that has no record of him.

Protagonist · Gloucestershire, 1599

Jane Holloway / Grayson

A Gloucestershire widow who has kept her holding alive through work, faith, and careful trade. Independent and guarded, Jane’s compassion leads her to shelter a bewildered stranger—and slowly reconsider the life she expected to live alone.

The parish clergyman

Parson Matthew Harwood

A thoughtful and discreet student of Scripture whose careful questions test Tommy’s story—and whose compassion may help him find a place in the parish.

The young parish clerk

Eliot Ward

An earnest nineteen-year-old scholar, curious about Tommy’s unusual speech, spectacles, and surprising knowledge of Scripture.

Supporting cast

The wider world of the novel

Jane’s late husband

William Holloway

A dutiful man whose family, faith, and holding remain an important part of Jane’s history.

A visiting clergyman

Parson Richard Ashcombe

A formal but courteous pastor invited to help consider Tommy’s unusual knowledge and circumstances.

An attentive examiner

Parson Stephen Markham

An analytical clergyman whose probing manner is balanced by genuine encouragement.

The senior churchman

Doctor Edmund Talbot

A seventy-four-year-old clergyman whose stern questions carry the weight of long experience.

A prosperous villager

Goodman Edmund Reeves

An appraising and intrusive neighbor who takes a keen interest in Jane’s holding and its fortunes.

Jane’s laundry customer

Mistress Margaret Hale

A particular and demanding village personality whose household provides Jane with regular work.

An observant neighbor

Mrs. Margaret Webb

A perceptive village woman who notices the happiness slowly returning to Jane’s life.

The village tradesman

Master Nicholas Carter

A practical and respected local man whose eye for good workmanship opens an unexpected path for Tommy in his adopted century.

A practical village wife

Mistress Anne Carter

Nicholas Carter’s industrious wife, whose needs help bring Tommy’s workmanship to wider attention.

The village baker

Mistress Alice Fletcher

A warm and generous baker whose small kindnesses reveal the village’s growing affection for Jane and the stranger under her roof.

A local livestock keeper

Goodman Hugh Mercer

A local man known for raising turkeys and contributing to the practical rhythms of village life.

The village blacksmith

Master Robert Fenwick

A vital local craftsman whose ironwork supports the tools, carts, and daily labor of village life.

The village butcher

Master Giles Atwood

A familiar tradesman who knows Jane’s household and hears the ordinary talk moving through the village.

The village seamstress

Mistress Joan Whitcombe

A skilled, observant, and good-humored craftswoman with an eye for both cloth and character.

Joan Whitcombe’s husband

Master Hugh Whitcombe

The husband of the village seamstress and a member of the household helping prepare for an important celebration.

A skilled seamstress

Mistress Agnes Pritchard

A seamstress who assists Joan Whitcombe with heavier stitching and helps Jane prepare for the wedding.

A careful finisher

Mistress Beatrice Larkin

A seamstress who handles the finer finishing of the wedding garments and joins Jane’s wedding-morning party.

Joan Whitcombe’s niece

Cecily Whitcombe

A younger member of the Whitcombe family who becomes part of Jane and Seth’s widening village circle.

A forthright villager

Thomas Weller

An observant local man whose willingness to speak plainly becomes important when truth is needed.

The parish officer

The Parish Constable

A methodical, evidence-minded officer charged with keeping order and weighing what the village has seen.

A dangerous local presence

Walter Pike

A loud, impulsive troublemaker whose actions bring fear and conflict to Jane’s quiet life.

Walter Pike’s relative

Richard Pike

A relative of Walter Pike who approaches Jane and Seth peacefully on their wedding day.

A covetous neighbor

Edmund Bell

A proud and intimidating man who believes Jane’s holding would be better placed in stronger hands.

Life on the holding

The animals who share Jane’s world

Abigail

One of Jane’s original three goats, named by Tommy after his arrival.

Boaz

A playful, outspoken, and particularly headstrong member of the little herd.

Esther

Jane’s dependable milking doe and mother to the holding’s young goats.

Obed

Esther’s young male kid—playful, curious, and as headstrong as Boaz.

Hannah

One of Esther’s young female kids, growing up on Jane’s holding.

Miriam

The second of Esther’s two young female kids and part of the expanding herd.

Clarabelle

The fine milking cow given to Jane and Seth as a wedding gift.

Foghorn

A troublesome chick with a habit of escaping whenever Seth is nearby.

The Hens

Jane’s laying hens, familiar companions whose eggs and presence are part of the holding’s daily rhythm.

The Chicks

A lively new brood whose arrival brings delight—and a little more commotion—to the holding.