Passenger

Passenger is the first book in the Passenger duology series written by Alexandra Bracken.

Plot
In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.

Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods—a powerful family in the colonies—and the servitude he’s known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can’t escape and the family that won’t let him go so easily. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, Nicholas’ passenger, can find. In order to protect her, he must ensure she brings it back to them—whether she wants to or not.

Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods’ grasp. But as they get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the Ironwoods are playing, treacherous forces threaten to separate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home... forever.

Bhutan – 1910
Nicholas and his step-brother, Julian, journey to a monastery in search of a lost artifact. Tragedy ensues as Julian falls to his death during a thunderstorm, leaving Nicholas stranded in Bhutan.

NYC– Present day
Etta is to perform at the Met Museum. Her mother gives her a pair of antique earrings before the show, which her mentor, Alice, notices right before she goes on stage. Etta takes center stage but stops playing after hearing an awful, shrieking sound. She is led deeper into the museum by a girl named Sophia and they come upon Alice, who is bleeding to death from a bullet wound.

Etta wants to stay and help her but is pushed into a stairwell where she falls through a passage. When she wakes up, she's aboard a ship.

The Atlantic/New York City – 1776
She finds herself aboard the Ardent as the guest of Nicholas and his crew. Confused about where she is, she is accidentally pushed into the sea but rescued by Nicholas. Once safely escorted back into their cabin, Sophia reveals that they've time traveled to the past.

Etta learns that this ability is inherited from their parents, which causes her to realize that her Mom must've been a traveler once too. To learn more about this newly discovered ability, Sophia and Etta exchange information.

While Sophia is preoccupied with sea sickness, Etta has dinner with the crew. There she wins over the affection of Nicholas, who vows to rescue her if she is danger from the Ironwoods. Days later, the trio land in New York City. Etta is delivered to Cyrus Ironwood and learns that he is holding her mother hostage. In order to gain her freedom, Etta must locate the astrolabe. She agrees and that night she sneaks out of her room and travels through a nearby passage to London.

London – 1940
Etta and Nicholas team up to find the astrolabe. They visit a young Alice at her home but she doesn't know where the artifact is. She does inform them that the astrolabe will allow the user to go back to the original timeline, correcting all the changes made and allowing Cyrus to save his murdered wife. She also points them in the direction of the next passage, which is located in a tunnel in the Underground.

There Etta and Nicholas share their first kiss before stepping through the passage into Cambodia.

Angkor, Cambodia – 1685
Etta is almost bitten by a cobra, but Nicholas kills it and grazes Etta's leg. The two then spend some time together, giving into their lust, but eventually end it and go through a passage.

France - 1880
When they arrive in France, Nicholas spots a woman that looks like his mother. They also run into Augustus, Nicholas father, who mistakes Etta for her mother. Realizing that they've taken the wrong passage, the two backtrack back to Angkor and take the correct one to Damascus.

Damascus – 1599
They arrive in an apartment littered with souvenirs from different time periods. They meet Hassan, Etta's great-uncle, and he gives her a letter from her mother. He agrees to help them find the astrolabe. That night Etta and Nicholas have a fight over their future together; Etta decides she doesn't care and the two have sex.

The next day, Etta is almost kidnapped by two guardians. Nicholas saves her and is stabbed in the process. Nicholas goes in and out of consciousness and convinces Etta to go on without him. When he wakes up later on, Hassan says that Etta's vanished having been taken by Sophia and two hired men.

Etta and her kidnappers reach Palmyra and Etta finds the astrolabe. Sophia decides to keep it for herself but the guardians reveal themselves to be Thorns, enemies of the Ironwoods, and take it instead. Luckily, Nicholas arrives just in time to save them but he's weak from the stabbing and only manages to get off one shot. Sophia makes a deal with the Thorns and leaves with them, abandoning Etta and Nicholas in the middle of the desert. Etta tries to reach Nicholas but the bullet hit her instead of the Thorn and she disappears in a pile of dust.

Nicholas is heartbroken and is found by Rose, who managed to escape the Ironwoods. They make an agreement that Nicholas will correct the event that altered the timeline and Rose will find out where Etta has disappeared to. They make plans to meet in a month in 1776 Nassau.

Nicholas leaves with Hasan back to his apartment. But first they pick up Sophia, who was betrayed by the Thorns and left for dead.