Billionaire New Yorker Damian Hale is diagnosed with terminal cancer. He finds a business card directing him to Professor Albright, who informs him about a medical procedure called "shedding", in which one's Mind uploading to an artificially grown body. Damian agrees to the procedure, and follows Albright's instructions to stage his own public death. Albright transfers him into a new body and prescribes medication to alleviate the vivid hallucinations which he claims are side effects of the procedure.