After crashing his spaceship, Winston Niles Rumfoord is transformed into a "wave phenomenon," a telepathic being who travels in an orbit from the sun to the constellation Betelgeuse, landing on Earth once every 59 days. Rumfoord drafts an earthling named Malachi Constant as the prophet of a new religion. Constant travel to distant planets in search of cosmic enlightenment, then returns to Earth with this message: "I was a victim of a series of accidents, as are we all."

The richest and most depraved man on Earth takes a wild space journey to distant worlds, learning about the purpose of human life along the way.

The richest and most depraved man on Earth takes a wild space journey to distant worlds, learning about the purpose of human life along the way.