Misspent Youth is set forty years into the future and, following decades of research and trillions of euros spent on genetics, Europe is finally in a position to rejuvenate a human being. The first subject is Jeff Baker, inventor of the storage crystal and father of the Datasphere - as well as philanthropist extraordinaire. After eighteen months in a German medical facility, the seventy-eight-year-old patient returns home looking like a healthy twenty-year-old.
Jeff Baker is the inventor of the storage crystal, the ultimate method of storing information. Not only does this invention bring about a new technological age for the human race along with the creation of the Datasphere, the successor of the internet, but Jeff doesn't patent the technology and freely distributes it. What seems like a selfless act to the rest of the world eventually brings us around to his being put forward for the first rejuvenation treatment. One of the reasons that Jeff is to be rejuvenated is because of his knowledge and once out of rejuvenation he is to help work towards building a super conductor - a clean power source that will fit in a room.
Tim Baker, Jeff's 18-year-old son, has plenty going on in his life - a girlfriend, nearly finished school and his father coming out of rejuvenation looking more like an older brother. Not only does this mean that Tim's dad is no longer the old codger he was 18 months ago, but with the combination of wealth, experience and a load of hormones he's turning into a babe magnet. The only problem is that he can't seem to control the new found hormones the way you'd expect a 70 year old to. Before long he's bedding all sorts of young girls, including Tim's friends.
We witness Jeff's relationship with his old friends crumble, the arguments he has with his family and the relationships he has with many a young lady. The story is very much character driven and the technology is impressive and a very good foundation for further books (Pandora's Star & Judas Unchained).