Human populations have ballooned to seventy billion. The world teems to capacity with complacent human beings, and only strict adherence to crushing routine maintains order. Despite harsh discipline, the planet's prisons swell with rebels and reprobates. To maintain peace and ease congestion, the International League of Diamond Ballers formed and then passed their game's Rule Number One - condemned criminals can earn their freedom by competing in the One True Game, a lethal five-day spectacle televised around the world to its teeming inhabitants.
After his father's execution for rebellion and his subsequent condemnation to the Shallow Island Penal Colony, young Jer Dan decides to dominate society's most deadly game. Unlike his teammates, Jer will not play for freedom.