A 62 year old widower with a death wish finds solace in racing his classic hotrod along mountain roads at night, telling himself he's cheating death rather than racing to meet it. One night, death reaches out for him.

He awakens in a hospital bed with a broken back and a poor prognosis from the doctors. He dips into despair.

Salvation comes in the form of a talent agent for The Grand Game, which turns out to be a reality show with an audience of trillions, broadcast over an interplanetary entertainment network.

"How would you like to have the body you had when you were nineteen?" the agent asks. "With the knowledge and experience of your current self?"

All he has to do is compete in the game. If he wins, he'll be rich. If he loses, he'll be dead. The game? Simple really. All he has to do is travel from the east coast of America to the west coast. Oh, one more thing. He'll be doing it in 500AD.

What he isn't told is that there's a lively betting operation on the game, and the beings running it aren't the types to be thwarted.