It is the closing decade of the 22nd century. Kara lives alone in the depths of the Sydney Metroplex, a sprawling hive of neon, steel, and glass that is home to almost a billion people.

Kicked from her home by her parents after coming out, and forced into the austere and controlling welfare system, she has been denied access to the avenues through which she would transition. Her only solace is in the world of virtual reality, where she can present herself however she wants, even attending school through telepresencing to avoid having to confront the world outside. A world which she regards with a nihilism that she and many others consider to be mandatory to survive in this world.

If she's lucky, she'll graduate with good grades, get a job at one of the big corpos, and coast through life as a member of the middle class. If she's unlucky, she'll be sold off as a medical test subject to one of those same corporations to pay off her debt to the federal government.

When she meets Alice, that all changes, and nihilism may no longer be mandatory for her to survive.