Matthew Clarke, lightning-struck, was imbued with the knowledge that in 1908 the Chicago Cubs traveled to Onamata ("Big Inning"), Iowa to play an exhibition game against a group of all-star amateurs, the Iowa Baseball Confederacy: a game that lasted an incredible 2,000 innings, played mostly in pouring rain. Nobody remembers it, but it's true! After Matthew's suicide (from being beaned by a line drive) his son Gideon inherits his obsession with the magical game.