Generations after environmental catastrophe obliterated advanced civilisation.
Life is straightforward for Ruth and her all-female, anti-agriculture warrior sect of “Burners” – until she meets a compelling young man named Ben. Their affair forces Ruth’s excommunication from the sect. But just as Ruth and Ben set off into exile, Ben falls catatonic. He simply will not wake up.
Ruth calls for help. No one comes but a silent and gruff healer, Adam, who turns out to be a farmer. In exchange for Ben’s treatment, Ruth must work on the farm and live by Adam’s rules. But during this time, Ruth makes an astonishing discovery: Ben is not human. He was made by women from another time and Adam is his human caretaker.
When Ben wakes from his slumber, a love triangle erupts that threatens to consume all: Ruth, the sensible farmer who loves her, and the exhilarating Ben whose love first set her free. With Ruth’s ideology breaking apart, she must now work from a new place, the heart.