Teenage Gideon and his mentor Davos are on a mission to fulfill the boy's destiny of leading his tribe of Moya out of the bondage of the evil Goths. Roxton and Marguerite come upon them, just as Davos is fatally wounded in a Goth attack. Before he dies, Davos charges Roxton with ensuring Gideon and the ""Star of Hope"" quarterstaff he carries, reach their destination. What they discover is that Gideon has been taken from his parents as a child, raised by monks, and chosen to lead his people from the isolated caves where they have hidden for a generation.

While looking for a way off the plateau, Roxton, Malone, and Challenger are saved by three Amazon women from an attack by a vicious flock of pterodactyls. Invited back to their camp, they find there are no men or boys, yet they are welcomed with open arms. While the Amazons celebrate by the light of a full moon, the men happily learn that it's breeding time -- and they have been chosen as studs. By the time they realize they will die as soon as they have served their purpose, it's too late to save themselves.

While mapping an unexplored valley, Roxton is surprised by a terrified young woman, who after uttering an enigmatic warning, dies in Marguerite's arms. Roxton, Marguerite, and Malone head toward an ominous castle when a sudden rainstorm forces them to seek shelter. There, under a mysterious influence, the three are led to separate rooms where they each find opulent evening wear of the same vintage as that worn by the young woman. Marguerite and the two men begin to take on new personalities, eerily re-enacting a romantic triangle of intrigue, with Marguerite playing Roxton against Malone as both men compete for her attention. Meanwhile Challenger and Veronica similarly find themselves at the castle, where they are welcomed by Roxton, Marguerite, and Malone, all strangely possessed by the spirit-wearers.

Our adventurers recover an ancient map showing the escape route from the Lost World. Knowing they will face sceptics in the scientific world to which they shall return, Challenger and Malone capture a T-Rex egg to take with them. Veronica cannot share their joy, however, for she must continue her search for her long lost parents. Malone's dreams of successfully returning to his beautiful fiancée in London appear to come true. But is this what he really wants?

Empress Centuria has ordered her Lizardmen to hunt and kill Tribune, who flees to the treehouse for help. They track him there and overwhelm our heroes. Malone, Marguerite and Roxton are taken prisoner along with Tribune and brought back to Centuria's city. Malone, posing as Professor Challenger, is ordered to make gunpowder, while Roxton and Tribune are sent to the gladiators' dungeon.

Roxton and Marguerite are out looking for a way off the plateau when they discover a promising looking crevice. Once through, they discover an old English village where they meet a masked woman who has just robbed the local pub. She drops her bag of spoils in front of the two explorers and vanishes. Roxton and Marguerite enter the pub in an effort to find the rightful owners of the loot, when they are promptly arrested by the local prosecutor. When Roxton tries to escape, he is shot!

While searching for the missing Malone, Marguerite is saved from a cannibal attack by a dashing trio of bandits. Their leader, the elegant Francois Locke, invites her to join his band of thieves. Marguerite declines his offer, only to be presented with proof that Locke can give her what she desires most - a way off the Plateau. Meanwhile, as Challenger, Roxton, and Veronica search for Marguerite, they discover evidence that the bandits are something other than human. Even worse, they receive a ransom note from them, demanding Marguerite's jewels in exchange for her release. But when they deliver the ransom, they're shocked to see that Marguerite isn't a prisoner at all - she appears to have joined Locke's group!

When Malone finds a knife, he is transported back to the East End of London in 1888, the scene of Jack the Ripper's brutal murders. In the nightmare of his visions, Malone sees his friends playing key roles in the crimes, both as conspirators and victims.

Meanwhile, Veronica is approached by a famous British doctor, who enlists her to help find his missing knife. Could this man be Jack the Ripper? Or is it the Scotland Yard Inspector who runs into Roxton and Marguerite? Charmed by the Inspector and his claim to know a way off the plateau, Marguerite is eager to assist him in apprehending the Ripper. Marguerite realizes she could be walking into a deadly trap. Veronica is left to confront and defeat the infamous killer to prevent the murderous cycle from being repeated on the plateau.

Challenger develops a new way to create lift in the balloon. All go along for a test flight, but the balloon is drawn into violent turbulence then crash-lands inside the vast caldera of an extinct volcano where our heroes find themselves trapped in a world beneath the earth's surface. With the balloon damaged and the supply of iron lost, our heroes can only survive for a matter of days in this hot and hostile environment.

Aleece, a strong-willed female warrior-in-training, hurries to the rescue. In exchange for a ride in the balloon she offers to help replenish the iron that is needed. Malone accompanies her to a mine, but instead of raw ore, her plan is to steal from the supply of a vengeful exile named Arjax. After being caught by Arjax, Malone and Aleece face death unless they lead Arjax back to the balloon.

When Keeran Raiders attack, a deadly poison dart forces Malone to relive a long-suppressed memory-his baptism of fire as a battlefield correspondent in World War I. Caught up in this nightmarish hallucination, Malone is once again an untried reporter cut off from Allied lines when an enemy advance pushes deep into No Man's Land. When the three battle-weary British soldiers who've been assigned to escort him are picked off by enemy action, the young reporter who's never fired a gun must take up arms to save his own life and the life of a wounded sergeant.