A 17-year-old girl, P. Burke, who is described as deeply unattractive and physically deformed looks with envy upon wealthy and beautiful citizens of her American town. She lives in a time period in which advertisements have been banned completely. P. Burke tries to end her own life but is taken to an ambulance and saved, which disappoints her. A police officer visits her to tell her that public suicide is a felony, but if she helps out with a special task, she can be declared legally dead. She is taken to GTX, the headquarters of a large corporation, electrodes are placed in her head, and she is hooked into a special system. The system, powered by the electrodes, connects her brain to the body of a young girl named Delphi. The body was grown in a lab and needs to be connected to a human brain to function. This beautiful girl, Delphi, while being controlled by P. Burke, is supposed to go out into the world and act as a living advertisement. When she uses products, others will want to use them as well. Delphi flies to Barcelona to marry a Spanish prince. Throughout her travels, she learns that her body cannot feel sensations. P. Burke was gang-raped at age twelve and is now excited to be fully in control of a body that people find beautiful. Back in America, P. Burke has to be forced to eat and move, as she loves living through Delphi so much that she has begun to neglect herself. However, Delphi begins to realize that the products she is being asked to promote create strange damage to human bodies. Delphi encounters a man, Paul, whose father works for GTX. P. Burke falls in love with him, but he does not know that Delphi is remotely controlled by another person. An official, Mr. Cantle, visits P. Burke and reminds her of the futility of falling in love, but she refuses to listen. Delphi's system is overloaded by feedback, and as she writhes around, Paul realizes that she is being remotely controlled and is livid on her behalf. Paul develops a device that can interfere with the signals entering Delphi's body. He takes her to GTX to force someone to take the implants out of her body, but when he arrives, P. Burke bursts out and runs for him, maddened by love. He is terrified by the sight of her and pulls wires out of her body in self-defense, which kills her. Delphi dies as a result.