London : an alternative 1980s. Britain has lost the Falklands war, Thatcher battles for power and Alan Turing achieves a breakthrough in artificial intelligence. Charlie, drifting through life, is in love with Miranda, a bright student who lives with a terrible secret. When Charlie comes into money, he buys Adam, one of the first batch of synthetic humans. This near-perfect being is beautiful, strong and clever — a love triangle soon forms.
As the true nature of Miranda's secret becomes clear, the three will confront a profound moral dilemma, and ask questions about what makes us who we are, and whether a machine can ever understand the human heart.
