More traveled to Antwerp as an ambassador for England and King Henry VIII. While not engaged in his official duties, More spends time conversing about intellectual matters with Peter Giles. One day, More sees Giles speaking to a bearded man whom More assumes to be a ship’s captain. Giles soon introduces More to this new man, Raphael Hythloday, who turns out to be a philosopher and world traveler. The three men retire to Giles’s house for supper and conversation, and Hythloday begins to speak about his travels.

A group of men, including the narrator, is listening to the Time Traveller discuss his theory that time is the fourth dimension. Finally, the Time Traveller produces a miniature time machine and makes it disappear into thin air. The next week, the guests return to find their host stumble in, looking disheveled and tired. They sit down after dinner, and the Time Traveller begins his story.