When a down-and-out android blows himself up in a crowded store, killing Jack Hartley’s wife, it changes his life forever. Android technology has advanced at an incredible pace. Androids are no longer glossy robots. They look, think, and feel exactly like humans, with all of the emotional problems that can bring. Human society is struggling to adjust. Androids are abused, assaulted, and scorned, and they have very few rights. Life is hard for a synthetic human. They have the most mentally demanding jobs with low pay and no social safety if they fail. Two years after the explosion, Jack is forced to work with an android woman named Lilly Thomas, and his life changes again.