Marion Perkin Warbeck, referred to as "the doomed man", has discovered children with supernatural powers, which he calls "genius".
Warbeck is a school principal who read an essay by Stuart that describes his friends inventing gadgets beyond known science.
When Warbeck attempted to find Stuart, not only had the boy disappeared but all records about him had vanished, and nobody who was closely involved with him remembered anything about him.
He is waylaid by a gang that runs a fraud on people with that name, and has to explain his reasons to them to save his life.
Once they understand that there might be a fortune to be made, they employ their own methods to track Stuart's family's sudden move to Brooklyn.