2013: An unhinged researcher into U.S. 'black sites' struggles to remember what he is doing at the wheel of his speeding car: his estranged wife and a person he cannot recognize are unconscious in the seats behind him. 1839: A failed explorer obsessed with a famous rival sets out into Australia's uncharted deserts, wagering the lives of his few remaining followers in his last bad bet for fame. Near future: A former child prodigy prepares for his cryonic preservation, deliriously anticipating the celebrations that will greet him on his resurrection.