The show follows a group of people, called "Sliders", as they travel ("sliding") between different Earths in parallel universes via a vortex-like wormhole, hoping to return safely to their original Earth Prime. The vortex can only be opened after a specific but random period of time on each new universe, monitored by a countdown clock on a portable timer that they carry; failure to open the vortex in time would strand the Sliders for 29.7 years in that universe. While waiting for the timer countdown, the group learns about the differences in the alternate Earth from their own, and often become unwillingly involved in events that they must resolve before they can safely leave via the vortex. The travelers have no control over what world they end up in, but continually look for means to find Earth Prime.