To ensure his father’s loyalty to the Pope, 11-year-old Federico is allowed to freely roam the papal palace in Rome while serving as a privileged hostage. The year is 1511, and Michelangelo is painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling, while the rival artist Raphael schemes to gain access through Federico to that off-limits work in progress. Lonely Federico is quick to befriend a cat he spots exiting an odd cabinet. Events take a time-warping turn when the cat is followed by Herbert Bother, an artist and dealer from 1920s New Jersey who is hoping to get Raphael to sign a sketch to increase its value. The odd cabinet, a gift to the Pope from France, was built by Leonardo Da Vinci. No one but Herbert, and now Federico, knows it’s a time machine. Juno, Da Vinci’s time-traveling cat, brings Bee, a 21 ^st -century Italian American girl and the daughter of art historian mothers, into the story. Cleverly constructed connections across time link Federico and Bee, who must work together to resolve altered events in the 16 ^th century that would otherwise irrevocably impact history. (Ages 9-12)