Sa bhliain 2035, deonaíonn an ciontóir James Cole go drogallach go gcuirfí ar ais in am é chun bunús víreas marfach a fháil amach a scrios beagnach daonra uile an domhain agus a chuir iachall ar na marthanóirí dul isteach i bpobail faoi thalamh. Ach nuair a chuirtear Cole chuig 1990 trí dhearmad in ionad 1996, tá sé gafa agus faoi ghlas in ospidéal meabhairghalar. Buaileann sé ansin leis an síciatraí Dr Kathryn Railly, agus an t-othar Jeffrey Goines, mac le saineolaí cáiliúil víreas, a bhféadfadh eochair an ghrúpa mistéireach bradacha, Arm an 12 Mhoncaí, a bheith freagrach as an galar marfach a scaoileadh.

Matt, a young glaciologist, soars across the vast, silent, icebound immensities of the South Pole as he recalls his love affair with Lisa. They meet at a mobbed rock concert in a vast music hall - London's Brixton Academy. They are in bed at night's end. Together, over a period of several months, they pursue a mutual sexual passion whose inevitable stages unfold in counterpoint to nine live-concert songs.