One Jump Ahead tells the story of young Leo Gargelletti, international champion of the immensely popular sport of cliffjumping. Cliffjumping was accidentally invented in a suicide attempt by a frustrated editorialist from Sheltown, Washington. It involves speeding down a runway, leaping off an 80-foot cliff, and landing on the rocks, sand, and boulders below. Since only ten percent of those who try jumping make it (the rest "splat" upon impact), both professional and junior "cliffers" are regarded as heroes by millions of adoring fans throughout the world.

The novel's narrator, Leo, is a cliffjumping prodigy who has risen from humble beginnings in Tijuana to become an international sensation. Having invented the unprecedented Triple Flip jump at the age of seven, Leo joins the famous Witt's Point Cliff Club in San Pedro, California, where, under the tutelage of beloved coach Primroast Pride, he climbs to the heights of cliffjumping fame, with both triumphant and disastrous results.

With its preposterous religion, its cartoon violence, and its absurdly skewed characters, One Jump Ahead is a humorous novel that satirizes the rituals and assumptions of our sports-obsessed society.