Mark Spinner, a 73-year-old ne'er-do-well, is allowed a do-over of his life, starting at any age he chooses. In this second chance, he retains his previous life experience. Exploiting the science of string theory, the time-space continuum, bucket balls, and other mysteries of the universe, he jumps to age 18, knowing much of what the future should hold. However, he discovers that "different strings include different things."