In a climate change-ravaged world, a utopian society optimizes life, including parenthood assessments. A successful couple faces scrutiny by an evaluator over seven days to determine their fitness for childbearing.
One of main character mentions that she was abandoned by her mother as a child, and this is mentioned a couple of times as well. It's a driving point behind her character.
Tw: the husband, dependent on "the assessor", is forced to penetrate the female assessor in a long and painful scene.Very clear misuse of power, still framed as "he f****d her" wtf
Legal punishment in this universe means putting them in the 'old world' which is 'unlivable/harsh' in some way, and one of the main's mother is put there