On the planet Porcelain, china doll citizens are produced in factories with materials of varying quality, from porcelain to silica. One's birth factory determines your socioeconomic class in life.

Tikka, made of low-class silica, has a missing foot and a body that isn't particularly resilient towards the elements. She works as a Minor Propagandist for the planet's Bureau of Tourism, writing lists of attractions for tourists who are visiting from all kinds of planets in the galaxy. As spring approaches, Tikka contemplates her life and doubts that she will ever find love again.

Several years ago, Tikka met a human tourist who asked her to be his private tour guide. Since humans are the richest of the multi-verse dwellers, her boss agreed to let her go, as long as she agreed to avoid any discussions of politics or class disparities, as they do not want to alienate the humans. At first, the man complains a lot, but gives Tikka a lot of valuable insight for her articles. She shows him the Dedicatorium, where some citizens choose to painfully break off their own limbs and leave them as a quasi-religious offering. The man is fascinated by this.

The more time they spend together, the more Tikka finds herself attracted to him. As their feelings grow stronger, he asks to sleep with her. On this planet, during sex, the citizens' bodies soften and then merge and harden together, staying frozen in place for several hours. It is too dangerous for the man to enter Tikka, but he brings her to orgasm and she hardens alone. While she is in this frozen state, the man breaks off her foot, causing her agonizing pain. He leaves, and she never sees him again.

Since then, Tikka has stayed closed off from love. She later learns that severed limbs in good condition can be sold for a nice profit.