Los Angeles, 2006: Dr Nate Sheehan is casually murdered in a parking lot. His wife, also a doctor, hopes to rescue at least a part of him for cryonic preservation. She performs an unprecedented operation.

Gamma Gulch Penitentiary, California, 2069: twenty-six-year-old Duane Williams is about to be sent to the death chamber for the rape and murder of a young woman.

Icor Regrowth Programme, Arizona, 2070: sixty-four years after his own violent death, Nate is resuscitated using the body of an anonymous donor. Despite the advances in science, neurotechnologist Dr Persis Bandelier and her colleague Garth Bannerman never expected their covert operation to be a success. So when the patient responds to their treatment, no one is ready . . .

And all too soon, an investigative journalist blows the cover of the sensational waking. The news story threatens to expose the identity of both the mysterious donor and unravel the truth behind Sheehan's murder all those years ago . . .