When Detective Sergeant Alfred Hill retired from the police force, he ended his long career in disgrace. But when he finds the body of an unconscious man in the same spot where he investigated a suspected suicide in 1962, Hill has the opportunity to redeem his reputation-and crack the unsolved mystery that has haunted him for nearly forty years.

The man in question appears to be the same person whose suicide Hill investigated all those years ago, and when he regains consciousness, everyone claims he is, indeed, the missing Jacob King. The only problems are that Jacob King has no recollection of anything-and that he hasn't aged a single day in the past forty years.

Unable to reconcile the facts of the case, the police appoint Detective Constable David Sommer to help Sergeant Hill in his investigation. With powerful American pharmaceutical companies and the CIA interested in their suspect, Sommer and Hill have their work cut out for them. And it isn't until Jacob King himself makes a startling revelation that Hill and Sommer understand how important this case is-not only to their careers, but to the future of all humanity.