Dr Henry Moss is a decent, gentle, committed physician whose life's work is the study of Hickman Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes rapid ageing and premature death in children. While working with a young Hickman's sufferer, Giles, Moss discovers that Giles's teenage brother Thomas also carries the fatal gene combination but displays no symptoms. In fact he is radiantly healthy, and Moss identifies a secondary mutation that seems to be helping Thomas defy the ageing process. This astonishing discovery could earn Moss millions of dollars.