Dodge Tynes is a former athlete and a bankrupt real estate developer living in Detroit. After passing out from a headache, he wakes up in the hospital where two doctors tell him and his pregnant wife Val that he has an inoperable brain tumor. A nurse offers him a business card for Tiro Fund, a company that supposedly helps those with terminal illnesses that are financially struggling.
Dodge visits Tiro Fund and meets Miles Sellars, who offers him a deal: for 24 hours, Dodge will be the “prey” hunted by five “hunters” that will try to kill him. In exchange, he will have money wired to his bank account for every hour he survives, with the increments growing for every hour. Miles also explains the rules: Dodge cannot stop or pause the game once it starts; he cannot tell anyone he is in the game; and he cannot leave Detroit. If he breaks these rules, the game will never end until he dies. Dodge initially rejects the offer, but later decides to take it at the promise of leaving Val and their child financially secure. The game starts at sunrise at 6:46 AM at a diner where Miles takes all of Dodge’s belongings except for his medication, an ultrasound of his child, and a phone Miles gives him to track his location. For 15 seconds every hour, the phone will send his current location to the hunters.
The game begins, and Dodge eventually comes across and evades the five hunters: Nixon, a British gentleman who strictly follows the rules of the hunt; Reagan, a southern cowboy; Carter, a psychologist who uses Dodge’s profile to track his next move; Kennedy, a martial arts expert; and LBJ, an older man Dodge saw earlier in the diner. Dodge also runs into Connell, one of Miles’ subordinates in charge of watching Dodge from the streets and cleaning up after the game.