The Time Traveler explains his theory of time to a meeting of his fellows and demonstrates a small model of his time machine which vanishes in front of their eyes. Later, using the full scale machine, he travels into the future and brings back a story which some believe but about which most are skeptical.
While the story is treated as science fiction it is actually a social satire about the well off versus the working class. In the future the former are idle, vegetarians, and incapable of work or any intellectual activity. They are the Eloi. Living underground with a diet of meat are the Morlocks. They provide everything for the Eloi. The Eloi are their cattle.