In an industrial future, human evolution is accelerating grotesquely. Bodies are sprouting extra organs and losing the sensation of pain. Eating and sleeping require Freudian machines. And performance artist Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen), whose partner Caprice (Lea Seydoux) surgically removes his superfluous organs, has become a figure of notoriety. But the National Organ Registry seems suspicious of Saul and its skittish, intense investigator Timlin (Kristen Stewart) has a more-than-professional interest in him. Meanwhile, an anarchic cult is embracing change in a shadowy underworld.