Affluent, lonely Adriana lives in her late father's seaside mansion with no companionship save her passionately jealous parrot. When she witnesses the love between her brother and his husband, Adriana becomes convinced the missing piece of her life is a partner. But Adriana experienced sexual abuse at the hands of her father for years, and the prospect of human intimacy terrifies her.

Luckily, a solution has been invented. Artificial intelligence with brain plasticity enabling it to transform itself into a unique personality over time. Although initially disturbed by the concept, Adriana puts her family fortune into developing herself a lover from this new technology. When he arrives, Lucian is much more than the robot she expected. As his brain molds itself anew over time, Adriana falls deeply in love with him - and Lucian seems to love her in return.

Advocating for AI rights, Adriana marries Lucian and gives him complete autonomy over his brain development simultaneously, setting him free. They adopt a child and fend off attacks from her jealous parrot, who cannot endure Adriana's love for her new family. However, Lucian's newfound autonomy leads him to question how much of himself is defined by his programming, and he tells Adriana he must leave her to rediscover himself. Secretly, Lucian fears the relationship between them is more akin to ownership over a possession than a healthy marriage.

Abandoned, Adriana struggles to raise her four year old child alone, a fully human girl convinced she is a robot. Descending into drunkenness, Adriana endangers herself and her child, questioning why Lucian abandoned her. She upheld him as a man better than her father taught her men could be, the stable husband she always needed and feared she would never have. His apparent lack of love for her and their child, and his decision to abandon them, causes her to lose her newfound faith. She takes refuge in her brother, but never recovers fully from the loss.