Antony's partner Mindy dies in a freak boating accident, and he spends months in despair. His mother lives close, and he often gives her gifts, including, at one point, a tortoiseshell cat named Taco Cat. Taco died a year ago, and Antony sees how much his mother misses him. So, he sends out for a kit that promises to create a perfect clone cat of Taco. Soon, he's offered another cloning opportunity -- he can clone a human; he could get Mindy back. Antony meets with Dr. Avosh, the lead scientist on the cloning team, who informs him that the cloning is possible through the 'shunts' everyone has now -- small pieces of technology which people get inserted into their brains that help them operate at max functionality -- shunts help you sleep for the right amount of time, or feel full so you don't overeat. The shunt Mindy had while alive will be able to draw on her memories and rebuild her from them. Antony takes out a second mortgage and gets a loan from his mother in order to finance Mindy's cloning. He talks with the cloning team extensively, so that they can draw on his memories of Mindy when creating her clone. Meanwhile, Taco's clone arrives -- and it looks entirely different from Taco. Apparently, you can't clone tortoiseshell cats and expect the same markings. The day comes when it's time to bring Mindy's clone home, and Antony meets her at the hospital with red roses. Mindy wakes in her hospital bed, and she has the same smile and the same voice as before. But this Mindy is far more hesitant about the world; she doesn't embrace new experiences in the same way that the original Mindy did. Dr. Avosh explains that they still don't know how much about personality is genetically determined, which could account for these discrepancies. Antony's mom, though hesitant at first, decides to embrace this 'new version' of Taco. Antony decides that he will explain to the Mindy clone how she was created, what she is, and then let her decide if she wants to begin to build a life with him -- a new, different life, for both of them.