Klaus Hauptmann, a young German, is in the US interviewing for a job. While he and a friend are shopping in a convenience store, he is shot by men intent on robbing the store. He is rushed to the hospital, and just as the doctor is pronouncing him dead, he suddenly and unexpectedly revives. However, he can't remember who or where he is. As he searches for his identity, he begins to realize something is wrong. He's a German, but he finds himself thinking in English, and although seeing his parents and hearing about his past life do not jog his memory at all, he does get feelings that he knows people and places in the US he shouldn't know. Eventually, with the help of friends of a man named Greg Miles, who recently died, he comes to realize that he is living with Greg's memories in the body of Klaus. The story follows Greg/Klaus as he tries to live the life of Klaus with only the memories of Greg and to deal with a surprising problem from Klaus's earlier life. And always in the background is the question, "why did this happen?"