In the middle of the 21st century, global warming has caused the polar ice-caps to melt. As the water levels rise, the amount of inhabitable land has been reduced alarmingly. People trapped in over-populated floating cities have to live by strict rules aimed at dealing with the population crisis: each couple is permitted only one child.

Martin and Monica Swinton have just lost their daughter. Following an incurable disease, she has been cryogenized while her parents wait for a solution to be found. Now that they are alone, the Swintons decide to adopt a child. The law is the same for everybody, one and only child, but technology offers new possibilities... And so the Swintons adopt David, eleven years old, brown-haired and blue-eyed... He looks like any other boy of his age. But despite his human appearance, David has been created artificially. Programmed to love his adopted parents and capable of emotions, David is unable to make himself loved by Monica, who he considers nonetheless to be his true mother. Despite her efforts, Monica can not forget her daughter and can only see David’s inhumanity. This is the beginning of David’s journey of initiation to find what will make him human.