Tally is painfully aware that she is hideously ugly. But she is about to turn the much anticipated 16, and where Tally lives your 16th birthday marks the day you get full body plastic surgery. This is surgery unheard of in modern science, it isn't just some botox and a face-lift. This alters you forever. The doctors can change you hair, eye and skin colors, your bone structure, your curves, your muscles, your teeth, and more. It is a full body overhaul. Tally is looking forward to her 16th birthday and imagining how pretty she will be once the surgery is over.
However, Tally's friend Shay isn't so sure about the operation and decides to reject society and live in the wild with a group of people who have decided not to have the surgery. After Shay leaves, Tally is approached by her government with an offer. Help them find Shay, and the group of dissidents living the woods, or remain ugly FOREVER! Tally has to decide what is more important, her friend or her self-perception.