The film is set in a future where humans have evolved to adapt to a synthetic environment. This has led to a variety of physical and mental mutations, including the ability to digest plastic. Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen) is a celebrity performance artist who showcases the metamorphosis of his organs in avant-garde performances. He is accompanied by his partner, Caprice (Léa Seydoux), who performs surgery on him during the shows. A governmental police unit, the National Organ Registry, seeks to use Tenser to infiltrate a group of radical evolutionists. The evolutionists believe that humans are evolving into a new species, and they are opposed to the government's efforts to suppress this evolution. Tenser agrees to meet with the evolutionists, but he does not tell Caprice. During one of his performances, Tenser meets a young woman named Timlin (Kristen Stewart), who is an investigator for the National Organ Registry. Timlin is fascinated by Tenser and his work, and she begins to q...