Elizabeth lives every day thinking that twenty years ago, she could've prevented AI from upending society. But her lack of experience, and a messy affair, sent her spiralling out of government and into seclusion.
Her ex-husband Mike now works at HumanTouch, the last firm in London doing graphic design by hand. He rolls his eyes at anti-automation protests, but worries his favourite shows and his online romances are both being written by algorithms.
Across town, Gemma sleepwalks through life as a music industry executive, a bottle in one hand and hook-up apps in another, her fiftieth birthday just around the corner. Few care for artisanal music anymore, fewer still could afford it.
With unemployment punishable by exile to a work camp, and the threat of losing their livelihoods ever-growing, Elizabeth, Mike and Gemma each struggle to find their own way back to something that resembles happiness—or even just humanity.