In a dystopian future, society is divided between a pristine, heavily fortified, protected city and the run down city that surrounds it. Within the city’s walls, the people believe they are humanity’s last hope to save the world from the environmentally destructive world they once lived in. The city’s future depends on a government program known as The Initiative.
The Initiative tests children on a series of trials designed to identify those who would be eco-friendly versus those who would live a life of pollution and destruction. Families within the city may volunteer their children for testing, believing it will secure them a better future. However, children from the surrounding towns are often taken in the middle of the night without warning or consent. The public is told that children who fail the trials are sent away to military academies to prepare for a distant war. In reality, failed subjects are quietly executed and erased from official records.
Clara, a doctor assigned to administering these trials, begins to question the morality of the program after she witnesses countless children being tested and never seen again. Mira, the head of The Initiative, is determined to uphold the strict procedures she herself had set in place, while Clara finds herself torn between her loyalty to the company and her conscience.
Outside the walls, Mary struggles to cope after her child is taken by the Initiative. Refusing to accept the government’s explanation, she becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth. Her search leads her closer and closer to the same conclusions the Clara is arriving at. They must each decide what they are willing to do to bring Mira and The Initiative to a crumble.