Emmett's friend Shahrzad Hejazi at the Imperial War Museum in London recalls and finds a photo of Tom and Ben taken in July 1915, as well as an eyewitness account of them, identified by name, disappearing together into an otherworldly portal.

Applying quantum mechanics to the fact that the highest incidence of traces of the men is between 1935 and 1949, Emmett deduces that they are time travelers from the past, not the future.

A test of Ben's secret military project, seeking cloaking technology, appears successful, which leads to a larger attempt.

In the present, Regenbald Howe, the caretaker of the Martello tower at Shingle Street, knows of Chappell and Seligman, who were stationed at RAF Bawdsey during World War II.

Time Was touches on a necessarily secret homosexual romance in the World War II-era,[1] with Booklist adding that it "captures the emotional nuances of a decades-long love while exploring issues of military and scientific might and the state of the contemporary book industry.

[4] In Library Journal, Kristi Chadwick called the story "elegant and delightedly romantic", and praised its "exciting, timeless finish.

"[2] Publishers Weekly called the novella compelling and vivid, noting that "The ending's predictability is washed away by beautiful writing that mixes Emmett's excitement with melancholy".