Reynold Michaels might not be the smartest man in the city, but he knows a beautiful woman when he sees one. The lovely creature he watches disembark from the steam tram every morning simply cannot be a prostitute...or an automaton. Yet at the high-priced bordello where she works he discovers she's not only a hybrid mechanical, she's funny, vulnerable, and quite possibly the missing piece of his heart.

Lily Landry understands that as an automaton she isn't entitled to make her own choices. She must do as instructed or face the ultimate horror of being shut down. But when she forms a bond with Reynold, she quickly learns what it means to desire a life of her own.

In a city conflicted over automaton rights, can they hope for a future together?