The following version of the book was used to create this study guide: Haig, Matthew. How to Stop Time. Penguin Random House, New York, NY, 10011, 2017. Kindle AZW file.

Tom Hazard was born in the late 1500s and has spent most of the more than 400 years trying to hide the fact that he does not age normally. Tom and his mother moved to England from France to escape the religious persecution that killed Tom's father. Though Tom's mother simply wanted a quiet life, villagers began to notice that Tom stopped aging at puberty. His mother was accused of witchcraft and drowned during her trial – proof that she was innocent but still resulting in Tom being orphaned as a young adult. Tom traveled toward London in the hope of blending in with the crowds of a larger city. He met a young woman named Rose and became part of her family. The couple fell in love and married. Rose eventually accepted that Tom's fantastical story about his slow aging was true, but they attracted more gossip and negative attention as Rose aged quicker than Tom. To protect themselves and their daughter Marion, Tom and Rose realized that they must live apart. After Tom learned that Rose was dying of the plague, he returned to see her and learned that Marion had inherited his condition.

Tom spent the next centuries traveling the world, always in the hope of finding Marion. He sailed the Pacific where he met another man who had lived centuries. Omai's experiences were similar in some ways, but he had different values and views.

When Tom sought the help of a doctor in the 1800s, he was hoping to find others who shared his condition. A few days later, the doctor was dead. Tom was rushed to America where he met Hendrich, a man older than Tom who had founded the Albatross Society. Hendrich had strict rules for those who joined him, but his promise to search for Marion earned Tom's loyalty. Over the years, Tom was not always in favor of Hendrich's plans, but he always obeyed.

Members of the society move every eight years. When it is time for another move, Tom chooses to become a history teacher in London. He is beset by nostalgia when he returns, remembering Rose, Marion, and other positive experiences here. He is attracted to the French teacher, Camille. When Camille recognizes Tom from a photo taken in the 1920s in Paris, Tom tells her everything. He immediately worries that he has put her in danger. When Hendrich orders Tom to Australia to bring Omai into the society or kill him, Tom discovers that Omai has been living in the same area for three decades with no problems. When Tom learns that Hendrich had found Marion years earlier and turned her against Tom, he is determined to end his relationship with Hendrich. In a moment of rage, Marion kills Hendrich, leaving herself, Tom, and Omai to continue their lives on their own terms. As Tom returns to London with Marion, he begins to repair that relationship and decides to build a life with Camille. He has a flash of the future with Camille, and Tom realizes that it is not possible to live in either the past or the future.