Rembrandt experiences a strange dream in which Wade is trying to contact him and bring him to her. The others have their doubts until a spatial fold opens before them. On the other side, they find Wade is somehow being used in a plan to attack Kromagg Prime.
In his basement in San Francisco, boy-genius Quinn Mallory unlocks the doorway to an infinite number of Earths. During a test run, Quinn invites co-worker Wade Wells and his teacher Professor Maximillian Arturo to see his new invention. But an increase in power and an early departure leave all three, plus a washed-up soul singer named Rembrandt "Crying Man" Brown, lost in a parallel world. Now they must "slide" from world to world, not only adapting to their changing surroundings, but also trying to get back to their world. Will they ever make it home?