Inventing Death is the story of Tyler Derby, a young man who refuses to look at his 'timeline,' a device that all people receive when they turn 23 which ticks down to their death. The 'timeline' was invented by Tyler's father in response to the discovery of the cure-all, the end to natural disease and death. The timeline has created a society run by time - people plan and schedule everything to make full use of their randomly decided life time.