Wealthy businessman Dimitry Yablonsky finds it unbearable to witness his beloved father's descent into old age. So he decides to award a prize of $100 million to anyone who can find a way of halting the human ageing process.
Dr Jonathan Palmer, a brilliant Cambridge scientist, aims to do just that. Despite the opposition of his deeply-religious wife, his colleagues and the Law, he is determined to let nothing stand between him and the ultimate prize in science.
But Palmer's work sparks off a chain of events that bring both joy, hope, bitterness and betrayal in their wake. He is prepared to sacrifice his marriage and even his life in pursuit of his quest, while Yablonsky risks losing his reputation and his liberty if a guilty secret is revealed.