One day, 23 years ago, everyone who was celebrating a 50th birthday awakened looking half their age (“It appears there has been some unexplainable biological event,” a news anchor reports). This phenomenon, known as the Reset, is now a common occurrence. Like all those inching toward their 50th, lawyer Tom Miller of Holly Springs, North Carolina, can choose to go through the Reset (it only works if you’re asleep at some point during the first two hours of your birthday; if you stay awake from midnight to two, you’ll see no change at all). Tom plans to rent an apartment and live on his own post-Reset, away from his wife, Elena, and their three children, the youngest of whom is a year away from graduating high school. Elena will go through her own Reset in a mere 18 months, but Tom wants to experience the youth he feels he’s missed due to his lifelong responsibilities. He promises to return once Elena Resets, but his plan still doesn’t go over well with his family members, especially the couple’s oldest child, Jack. Meanwhile, Pastor Randall Wilkes was shocked by his wife’s Reset back when the phenomenon first began. He sees it as something demonic and has spent years running the Awakened Church, which is vehemently against the Reset. The pastor and the Awakeners aren’t exactly wholesome; years ago, they kidnapped several people close to 50 and forced them to miss their Reset by keeping them awake. So, the Millers are understandably concerned when that same church seems to be drawing Jack in.
Charles’ measured story cannily zeroes in on the repercussions of the Reset rather than the “miracle” itself: Jack is a law student with a job lined up at his father’s firm, but he, like many 20-somethings, is upset by his limited opportunities, as those from the older generation no longer retire. Other characters, such as Tom’s best friend and neighbor, Walt, have vastly different experiences: As someone with multiple sclerosis who uses a wheelchair, Walt debates Resetting; he would get a chance to walk his engaged daughter down the aisle, but he knows his MS will return in a matter of years. Tom, the protagonist, is hard to warm up to—his “mid-life crisis” (as Elena rightly dubs it) is selfish, and getting a bachelor pad strongly implies he aims to sleep with other women. Still, the effects of his choices on Elena and each one of their kids beget enthralling melodrama. (Will Elena use the time away from her husband to pursue her own passions?) The Awakened Church is a relatively light (though unnerving) presence throughout the narrative. Their machinations build suspense as the members are determined to stop the “second Reset,” in which the first wave of Reset people will soon hit 50 for the second time and may or may not Reset again. The final act centers around a gratifying resolution for the characters and also drops a few genuine surprises.