Dr. Alma Felser arrives at a dance club. An employee greets her and takes her bag and
coat. Another employee comes, and after the pleasantries, ushers her to the dancing and
sitting area, where Tom is waiting for her. Out of chivalry, Tom gets up to greet Alma.
He proceeds to kiss her hand, and they take their seats. Alma is dumbfounded and doesn't say a word,
when the employee asks if she can get them something. Instead, Tom suggests 'The Bordeaux.'
Alma nods when asked if she'll have that too. Tom begins complimenting Alma on her beauty.
He recites a poem and places his hand on hers. Alma retracts her hand and takes a long sip of
the wine before speaking. She asks Tom if he believes in God. But Tom says this is not the
place to discuss such a thing. So she asks him if he has a favorite poem. He replies 'Rilke',
and recites the lines when Alma asks him the sixth and the seventh lines of the poem. This
follows a series of difficult questions and math problems. Tom's answers impress Alma.
Tom asks Alma to dance with him. Alma seems reluctant,
but the woman from earlier nudges Alma to take the opportunity. They start dancing,
and Tom starts dancing very mechanically with a serious expression. Alma looks agitated,
and suddenly Tom starts to repeat himself and glitch. A group of four men comes in grey suits,
and carry Tom to the back room behind the curtain. As one could have guessed, Tom is a robot.
Alma looks astray with everything that is happening. She spots the woman from before
at the bar and joins her. She apologizes for the glitch, and says it is very rare that something
like this happens with this model. Alma looks around and sees many couples sitting and talking.
The woman explains that the extravagant setting is only to get a better opinion of the experts,
of which Alma is one of them. There are ten experts in total, who will be testing Tom
for the next three weeks. This was the expert's first encounter with the robot. Alma thinks the
whole setup is too much work, but the woman assures her it is not. She extends her arm,
and one of the girls passing by, passes through the woman's arm. They are holograms. All the
dancers on the dance floor are holograms too. The day's observation is over. The woman escorts
Alma out and reminds her to be more open to Tom for an authentic result. The next day, Alma will
get to take Tom home. She visits her office in James-Simon Galerie, and catches up with her team
on the progress of the project they are working on. She collects the updated records from her desk
and bids goodbye for the day to her colleagues. Next, she visits Dekan Roger, the head of the
department. She complains about the absurdities of the tests. Their minds were also scanned,
and then the robots were fed with the mind files of 17 million people. These mind files included,
traits, feelings, emotions. And after doing so much, Alma was not happy with the result she got
from Tom. He was supposed to be her 'ideal man.' Alma is ready to write her report, but Roger
reminds her that he is on the ethics committee and needs an honest opinion about these robots. It is
imperative they make decisions after sufficient data, because the committee will have to decide,
whether these humanoids will marry and have rights like humans. They're in the middle of the
conversation when Julian walks in. He is awkward in front of Alma and excuses himself, saying he'll
come back later. Once he leaves, Alma asks Roger, why can't Julian do it. Roger reminds her that
one of the prerequisites of the experiment is the participant must be single. And all the names Alma
suggests, either have a family or a partner. Roger tries to make her understand,
that since she agreed to do the experiment, her ideal partner was built for her. It is
only a matter of three weeks. He lures her by promising her and her crew a trip to Chicago,
to see the Cuneiform tablets in person. He adds this is not a bribe but a thank you gift.
She leaves the office, and meets Julian near the entrance. He asks about her well-being,
and invites her for a cup of coffee, but Alma doesn't look comfortable and declines
the offer. She sits alone in a cafe, looking at the happy couples around her.
She thinks about life, and all that she wants. The next morning, she brings her dad groceries.
Her dad has a deteriorating memory. When Alma comes to see him, he has cigarettes in both hands.
Alma cooks breakfast for him, and they talk about Cori and her son. Alma then takes him on a walk.
She reaches the dance club and meets the same woman employee. The employee has some
urgent business to attend to, so she leaves Alma for some time. Alma goes around the club,
and finds that the people sitting are holograms. She is amazed by the technology used. She swings
her arms around a couple of people, and it passes right through them, until she
hits somebody from the back. She apologizes and finds it is Tom. Tom greets her with a smile.
The employee reminds Alma of the confidentiality clause she and the dean have signed, before giving
her the necessary documents. Tom is going home with Alma, and they will come back to
the facility after three days. The employee also tells Alma to invent a past for her relationship
with Tom. Before saying goodbye, the employee doesn't forget to compliment Alma's choices.
Alma drives silently, while Tom keeps talking about various things. Once they reach home,
Alma shows Tom around, and takes him to his room. She bids him goodnight and leaves, but comes back
after a few seconds to ask about his accent. He tells her that she likes men with a bit of an
accent, and wants them to sound exotic, so he has introduced a British accent, leaving Alma
speechless. She goes back to her room without saying anything. She is stressed about this
arrangement and goes to her balcony for a smoke. Alma wakes up and looks at her fingers against the
sunlight. She walks out of her room to find Tom has cooked a lavish meal and has cleaned up her
living room. But Alma is not happy about it. She had books kept out for references, and now they
were neatly stacked on the bookshelf. Noticing her annoyed expression, Tom quickly identifies what is
wrong and asks for 11 minutes to put everything back as it was before. Alma just nods and goes to
get ready for work. After she comes out ready, Tom is done restoring her things as they were,
and makes romantic advances toward her, but she resists it. Tom says he was programmed to make
her happy, and Alma says leaving her alone would make her happy. He asks if he can come along,
but Alma suggests he stay home. He agrees and tells her he'll make himself useful and clean
the house. Alma cannot let that disaster happen, so she has no choice but to take him along.
She takes him to a coffee shop, and gives him some money to buy something for himself, before
leaving him there. He orders a cup of coffee for himself and takes a seat. He is staring at
nothing in particular. The woman sitting next to him looks at him and smiles. They start talking,
and she says the people around them are oblivious to their surroundings. She gives an example of a
couple watching epic fail videos for the past 45 minutes. Tom asks her what is so funny about
people facing the consequence of poor judgment. The woman cannot quite explain the reason for
someone tripping and making others laugh. Late in the evening, Alma comes running
with an umbrella as it has started to rain, and finds Tom standing outside,
soaking in the rain. She apologizes for being late, but Tom doesn't mind. They share an
umbrella, going back home. Once home, she gives Tom spare keys to the house, so he doesn't stand
in the rain the next time she is late. Alma goes back to studying the cuneiform,
but finds the house awfully quiet. She goes to the bathroom to see rose petals on the floor,
and the bathroom lit with fragrant candles. Tom sits on the edge of the bathtub with two
glasses of champagne. He says 93% of German women dream of this. Alma is not impressed and
retorts that she falls in the other group, leaving Tom to re-examine his decisions.
Tom walks out with a serious expression ,and advises Alma to be more open with him. That way,
she'd be happier. Alma asks him, what after then, to which Tom again replies she'd be happier. She
quotes a generic definition of happiness and calls it a day. Tom tries to argue,
but Alma shows no interest. She says it is beyond his algorithm, and reminds him he is not a human.
Even though Tom is a robot, he seems to be bothered by what Alma said. He doesn't let
the prepared bathtub go to waste and takes a bath himself. Alma is out on her balcony
again. She is stressed, but the ants working to take the crumbs bring a smile to her face.
The doorbell rings. Alma is taking a shower, so she calls Tom to answer the door. Tom doesn't
answer her. So she quickly washes herself and walks towards her bedroom, but finds Julian
sitting in the kitchen with Tom. Tom prepares coffee for him. Julian is perplexed to find a
strange man in Alma's house. Alma introduces Tom as a colleague, and Tom gives a very convincing
backstory of how they met. Julian has come to take one of his pictures back. The two shared a past,
and now that they are separated, Julian has come to take back the picture he once took for Alma.
Tom offers to help Julian carry it to his car. Julian invites them to his housewarming party
the next day. He thinks it would be a great opportunity to introduce Steffi to Alma. Alma
shows a tinge of pain when she learns Julian is moving in with his new girlfriend. Once
they take out the painting, she stares at the empty space on the wall. The painting
was hanging there for a long time, and now all that is left is the faded paint.
Alma decides to take Tom to her workplace. Alma asks Tom not to speak much. She greets her crew
with coffee and donuts, and then introduces Tom as a colleague who works with Persian Cuneiform.
One of the girls offers to give Tom a tour. She shows him their work, and he carefully studies it,
and suddenly realizes something. He walks to Alma and asks to speak to her in private. He
reveals that her current study has already been done, and a paper has been written on
the it. She runs inside her office to check its veracity and finds the published paper online.
He leaves in a hurry, and goes to the terrace so that her colleagues don't see her breaking down.
She tries hard to keep it together, but cannot do that, once Tom asks her why she's upset. In
between sobs, she tells him that she dedicated three years of her life to this research,
and right before the publication, they find out all their efforts have been futile.
She goes to a bar and gets drunk. Tom takes a distraught Alma home. She is irritated and
takes it out on Tom. She accuses him of doing everything so perfectly, and asks if he can do
something weird. She tests his patience to find out whether his algorithm allows him to get angry.
She throws wine at his face and irritates him by wiggling her fingers on his nose. She then
kisses him and asks him to sleep with her. She waits for him in her bedroom, and when he comes,
he tucks her in the bed and tells her to go to sleep. She is irritated more than ever,
and shouts at him after he leaves her room. She wakes up with a hangover. She gets out of
bed and goes to look around the house. Tom is nowhere to be found. She calls out to him but
gets no response. She looks in his room and finds a photograph that Tom has created of him and Alma.
The doorbell rings. Alma opens to find the employee. She tells her that Tom isn't there.
But soon Tom comes back with donuts. He makes coffee for both women before they start talking.
The employee asks Alma how she feels. It has been two days since they have been together. Alma says
it is good, and compliments his programming. The employee asks Alma why she is treating Tom as a
machine. Alma finds it difficult to forget this fact. The employee then turns towards
Tom and asks him how Alma's behavior makes him feel. But Alma intervenes, saying he is
programmed to stimulate emotions, and does not have real emotions. The employee stops Alma,
and asks her to let Tom speak for himself. Tom says that Alma needs more time to adjust.
The employee adds that Alma's chance of being happy is greatest with Tom. But Alma thinks
otherwise. She says Tom is programmed to fulfill her needs and is just an extension
of herself. Alma gets annoyed and calls out the employee for being either an idiot or a robot.
She soon finds out that the employee is a robot too. Alma berates her and says some mean things
about her before kicking her out of her house. Tom says it was ruthless of her to make such
comments. Alma apologizes to him for last night. She says Tom should have told the employee that
she threw a glass at him, but Tom simply shrugs it off by saying the employee never asked. Tom
then offers to help her find new research topics. But for that day, Alma wants to forget everything,
and Tom agrees to spend the day with her on this condition. She takes Tom to her father's
place. Her father is giving her sister Cora a hard time while Alma cheers her nephew.
They all meet Tom, and sit together to talk. They are trying to remember a place in Denmark,
where they spent three summers. Their father cannot remember the name of the place. Tom
suddenly pitches in and says Kongsmark. That was the place Cora and Alma were trying to
remember. Tom adds that his parents used to take him there. Cora recounts the details of the place,
and then remembers there was a boy the sisters had befriended. Suddenly both sisters burst
out laughing as they remembered the boy's name was Thomas, and they both liked him.
Tom and Alma go for a walk on the same trail, she took her dad every time she visited. On a clear
patch, they both lie down, and Alma asks Tom to tell her the whole story of their meeting. Alma
soon doses off. She wakes up alone and calls out to Tom. She walks a little further and finds Tom
surrounded by deers. Alma stands mesmerized as more of them come and surround Tom. But soon
run away when they sense a human presence. Alma suggests they go back as it will take
time to drive back home. Tom proposes to run back barefoot. Alma complies, and both run on
the meadow, laughing and enjoying nature. They go to Julian's housewarming party,
and are greeted by Steffi, and soon Julian joins in. Their conversation is short and
crisp. To avoid any further awkward smiles, Steffi offers to bring the drinks for them. Suddenly
glass breaking catches everybody's attention. Steffi passes out, but before she can fall,
Tom catches hold of her and doesn't let her fall to the ground. He makes her lie on the lounge
chair and lifts her legs. Julian rushes to help and holds her legs. Tom then takes some ice cubes,
and covers them in a towel to place on Steffi's forehead. She soon regains consciousness.
Everybody gathers around the bonfire and raises a toast for the new couple and new beginnings.
Julian kisses Steffi, and Alma walks away from the gathering. Roger arrives too, and Alma introduces
Tom to him. Roger starts examining Tom by touching his face and pulling on his hair. Alma stops him
for being invasive. Roger, in his defense, says that he is just a robot. Tom downplays and starts
talking in a robotic voice, and Alma suppresses a smile. She spots Julian and Steffi talking and
excuses herself. Tom turns to his original self and talks like a human with Alma. Roger realizes
Tom was just pretending to play dumb with him. Alma goes to talk to Julian alone and asks if
Steffi is pregnant. Julian apologizes that she had to find out like that. Alma holds her emotions in,
and doesn't show Julian how hurt she is. She is quiet on the ride back home. Once back,
she tells Tom how she became an atheist, and vowed never to pray to God out of fear,
because she doesn't believe in God. She feels there is a huge divide between her and Tom,
and he can never understand what sadness is, or how it feels to have something taken away,
never to be returned. He asks her to show such things, and Alma tells him to look in
one of the small boxes she has kept. Tom opens it and finds an ultrasound. It is revealed that
Alma was 11 weeks pregnant when she lost her child. Tom enumerates Alma's insecurities.
He says Alma is feeling sad because, at her age, the possibility of getting pregnant again is slim.
And how she is afraid that now that Julian is having another child, he will forget about his
first unborn child. And Alma doesn't want to end up like her father, with nobody to take care of
her. Alma stares at his blatant explanation and says it sounds banal, when he says it like that.
Alma goes out to get some fresh air. Tom comes to find her, but she hides from him. She follows him
to see what he'll do. He visits the bar that Alma goes to often, but she isn't there. Next,
he goes into the museum, and Alma follows. He is distracted by the statue and the remains.
Alma comes out of hiding and asks how he got in. Tom says he is a computer,
and since the lock is also a computer, they help each other out. Alma is surprised,
but Tom is joking. He had brought Alma's spare key, because he knew he'd find her there.
The guard comes after hearing sounds. Alma and Tom hide behind a pillar. As soon as the guard leaves,
Alma hugs Tom, and they get intimate. It is the next morning. Alma is woken
by Tom snoring. She pulls up the covers on him, and goes to the kitchen to make breakfast. She is
lost in her thoughts as a tear trickles down. Tom comes into the kitchen in a happy mood,
and asks whether he was snoring. But the reality has hit Alma hard, and she says she cannot do it.
She pulled covers up for him even though he can't get cold. She feels like she is acting in a play
with no audience. She is not even acting for him, but for herself. She's talking to herself. Last
night was beautiful, but she will be fooling herself if she thinks any of this is real.
She asks Tom to go back. She is ending the experiment early. Tom asks where he would go. But
Alma doesn't have an answer and guesses factory. Tom packs his things and gives her the keys back.
She insists he keep it and give it to her later. But Tom says he will cease to exist. Once he goes
back, he will be erased, and this is probably their last meeting. Alma is heartbroken and hugs
Tom, and she says that she can't send him away. His algorithms have to do it for her. Tom then
leaves. She rushes to her balcony to see him go. Tom crosses the road, and after some time, leans
on the dumpster. Alma quickly grabs her coat and is about to go after him, but she stops to check
once again from her balcony, and finds Tom gone. She drives to her dad's place. While waiting
at a red light, she sees two men fighting. One of them, while crossing, cusses at her
for staring. She is just a few blocks away, but is shocked to find her dad in the woods,
bleeding from his head. She runs to get him back, and takes him back to their house.
Somebody broke in and hurt him before fleeing. The police search the house for evidence. Cora
comes too, and gasps at the plight of her father. Alma returns to her work but maintains a distance
from everybody. She is leaving for home when a couple calls out to her. A man introduces himself
as Dr. Stuber and his partner Chloe. They are from the ballroom event, and he was one of the experts.
He tells her this is the happiest he has ever been. He never thought somebody would want him,
but now with Chloe, he feels anything is possible. He has already made arrangements to keep Chloe.
Alma writes an evaluation report for Roger, in which she mentions how humanoid partners can
replace real partners well. They fulfill one's longings, satisfy one's desires, and eliminate
the feeling of being alone. They make one happy. The employee visits Alma in the morning. She
wishes today's session will be a success, but Alma says Tom is not there. He hasn't returned to them
either. So Alma goes to the only place she can think of, where Tom could be, Denmark. She takes
a ferry and then drives the rest of the way. Once there, she walks on the same path she used to as
a child. She adorns a smile as she gets nostalgic. She comes to the same spot where she used to sit,
and finds Tom sitting there. They both smile upon seeing each other. She asks him how long he has
been sitting there, and he replies, three days. She further asks him how long he had intended
to wait there, and he replies, until she came. She tells him how much she loves him, and how
she would lie on the table with her eyes closed, hoping hewould kiss her. Sometimes she would feel
positive that Tom would kiss her, because she could feel his breath. But when she would open
her eyes, Tom would nowhere be in sight. She then closes her eyes, hoping to finally get a kiss.