Sixteen-year-old Damon Baxter has always been different. Already an outsider with the highest LEEF injection variation in his class and rapidly approaching the maximum dose, Damon is watched closely by officials who fear he'll spiral into the same manic state that claimed his mother's life.

Living in Palpine, humanity's last city after a devastating global war, Damon’s gray existence follows the same routine each day—bland meals, monochrome clothing, and emotionless interactions. When a mysterious book with a strange Eye symbol appears in his locker, Damon makes a dangerous choice that shatters his perception of reality.

Now Damon must navigate a dangerous double life, pretending nothing has changed while secretly planning an escape with Kayla, the red-haired girl who's awakening more than just his senses. When officials schedule him for "Alignment"—a surgical procedure that will permanently rob him of his newfound humanity—the clock starts ticking. With Palpine's authorities closing in and hunters chasing down whoever dares to feel, Damon faces an impossible choice: sacrifice his humanity or betray the person he loves most.

As Damon and Kayla tragically discover, some sensations come at a deadly cost.