By taking the decision to have a child without obtaining official permission, Whitney and Aina are breaking the law. When their crime is discovered they become social outcasts, condemned to serve a 12-year sentence of exile on a remote island in the north. At the croft they must fend for themselves, learning the art of survival in a hostile landscape. They are aided in their endeavour by an annual drop of essential supplies, together with the hope that once the 12 years have passed, they may be allowed to return home.
Their punishment is made harder by the fact that toxic spores from the melting permafrost have been released into the atmosphere; anyone spending time in that part of the world must take prophylactic pills at eight-hour intervals to stay alive. These are dispensed via an automated “pill clock”, activated by the thumb print of the designated user, keeping the miscreants effectively tethered to their place of exile.
