Moist von Lipwig is a con man turned civil servant. As head of the Royal Bank and Post Office of Ankh-Morpork, he doesn't really want or need another job.

But when the Patrician, Lord Vetinari, gives you a task, you do it or suffer the consequences. In Moist's case, death. A brand-new invention has come to the city: a steam locomotive named Iron Girder, to be precise.

With the railway's introduction and rapid expansion, Vetinari enlists Moist to represent the government and keep things on track. But as with all new technology, some people have objections, and Moist will have to use every trick in his arsenal to keep the trains running . .