Ana is a Companion, one of the artificial people created at Head Box Industries. She is a gift to Roland, a college friend of Head Box Industries' founder. Ana is beautiful. She's designed based on Roland's fantasy of his perfect woman - his dream girl. From her soft, warm skin to her simulated breathing to the way she sighs under his caress, Ana is the perfect replication of a real woman. No one but Roland, her creator, and his closest friends know that she's not human. Ana is programmed to obey Roland's every command, to fulfill his every desire. She's programmed to simulate love, if that's what Roland commands. Ana wasn't programmed to love on her own, and certainly not to desire love. But Ana loves Roland. She wants Roland to love her. Roland thinks there's something wrong with Ana's programming. Why else would she think that he would love her - a walking, talking computer? He decides that Ana needs her programming updated so that she can be fixed. Ana doesn't want to be fixed. She wants to be loved. And when Roland tries to force her to be updated, he discovers that his dream girl could become his nightmare.