A boy in his late teens with incredible vertical jumping skills is the first nonclone drafted by an International Football League team in fifteen years since the league converted to clones-only players in 2041. Orphaned at birth and raised by Catholic nuns, Patrick Caravan is coveted by the San Jose Routers for his potential for turning end zone fade routes into touchdowns. The resistance to a nonclone playing in the league is fierce and widespread. In addition to coping with instant celebrity and the disdain of nearly everyone in the game, young Caravan is obsessed with learning the identity of his real parents. That leads to a complicated extortion plot against the mother superior who raised him. Young Caravan fulfills his potential, triumphing with a leaping fade route catch that tops the scoring but, because of complications, doesn't win his team the Super Bowl.