In the first half of the novel, the narrator, Keith Roache, describes his long life. After an injury in World War II, he returns home minus his left leg, and quickly learns to adapt to his new life. He passes through several careers as a singer, a one-legged cricketeer, a doctor, and finally an entertainer, before his death by cancer.
In the second half of the novel, Keith describes a life after death and reincarnation. He details his consequent lives and, eventually, his mission to reverse the world's population decline.