The Golden Globe story is told initially from a first person perspective, but a substantial portion of the book comes in the form of extended flashbacks.

The novel begins as a first person account of Valentine's adventures in the outer worlds of the Solar System as he attempts to make his way to Luna to play King Lear in an upcoming production.

The story is punctuated by several extended flashback sequences in which we learn that Valentine's father, a supremely egotistical and domineering stage actor, has groomed his son almost from birth to follow in his footsteps.

At the end of the novel, Valentine says that he has reclaimed his fortune accrued from the revenue of his children's show (long inaccessible to him during his life on the run), now making him the single wealthiest person in the solar system.

Using this newfound wealth, he throws in his lot with the Heinleiners, a reclusive group of libertarian idealists who are building a starship and planning a voyage to the stars.