Publisher's Synopsis
When misanthropic fifty-year-old Seth Bridges, on the cusp of suicide, spots a strange woman heading towards him, he is transported back in time and into his former childhood self. Determined not to squander his second chance, he graduates from boarding school and heads off to a 1979 Las Vegas with one hundred thousand dollars taped to his waist: cash he has accumulated betting sure odds against old money. All the while, he is haunted by nightmares of an impending pandemic that will wipe out ninety-nine percent of the world's population. His plan is to continue betting on sporting events he has prior knowledge of, then use the winnings to ride out the looming disaster. His uncanny luck draws the attention of other time travelers, some are friendly, others not so much. They tell him they are Shifters and their purpose is to serve the Progenitor. Seth's nightmares become guiding visions. He believes he is responsible for the impending pandemic and must choose between saving the people on earth or preserve mankind the species. He decides to save the species. Seth puts together a team and a plan: ride out the virus in space. Attempts on his life are made by a series of eight clones sent back in time to kill him. With the help of a holographic box containing future technologyâan inheritance from his grandfatherâand his visions, Seth, and his new friends construct a manned spacecraft that is outfitted with an anti-gravity device. Soon, the government wants in on Seth's aerospace venture, and they'll do anything to get it. After a harrowing vision, in which he and all his friends are murdered by a rogue government agent, Seth finds himself, and his team, on the run. He, along with two co-pilots, are forced to take their untested spacecraft into space. They are attacked by fighter jets and knocked unconscious. When Seth and his crew wake, they are drifting in space: their ship disabled and their air supply dwindling. They receive assistance, two tanks of air tethered by a line, from a cosmonaut orbiting in nearby Skylab. Seth attempts a spacewalk to retrieve the tanks but after depleting his air he finds himself in a numinous, other-worldly room, engaged in a philosophical discussion with a reaper. He is visited by people he has met during his second chance, both alive and dead. Back on the spacecraft, Seth's crewmates come up with a more successful plan. They retrieve Seth's lifeless body and land their spacecraft on the coast of western Africa. Finally, we see Seth simultaneously existing in the past, present, and future. His second chance fulfilled.
