Locked down with their ailing Mother during the plandemic of 2036, remote A.I. persona architect Crystal Augur moonlights as rising intersex rock star Sable August. Forced underground for Mother's meds, they get chased by government drones and arrested by their own employer—new national security partner and frontier A.I. corporation O-Pentham—in a dystopian near future where live music is illegal and artists are outlaws.