If someone you loved were taken from you, how far would you go to
bring him or her back? This is the impossible question confronting
grief-stricken Paul and Jessie Duncan (Greg Kinnear, Rebecca
Romijn-Stamos) in the very graveyard where they are to bury their
beloved eight year-old son, Adam (Cameron Bright). Into that moment
of absolute despair steps Dr. Richard Wells (Robert De Niro) with a
calm, reasoned, and utterly incredible offer. He can bring their
son back, alive.
He explains that Adam is dead but his cells live on. Wells would
clone the boy and Jessie could give birth to him once more,
allowing Adam a second chance at life, and the family another
chance at happiness. The cells however, will not be viable for long
Wells tells Paul and Jessie and the couple has only a day to decide
if they can accept this achingly tempting offer. Facing this
immediate yet agonizing decision, the couple tries to consider the
moral, ethical and legal repercussions of this action. Their love
for their son triumphs over all arguments and Paul and Jessie agree
to give their boy the chance to live beyond his eighth
birthday.
With echoes of a Faustian bargain, Dr. Wells' offer comes with
conditions: The process is illegal, so secrecy must be absolute.
The new Adam will never see another doctor and the Duncan's will
sever ties with friends and family so that no curious eyes will
ever see their little boy growing up again. To ensure the secret is
kept, the family resettles in the idyllic town of Riverton, close
to Dr. Wells' impressive Godsend Fertility Clinic.
At Godsend, Jessie undergoes a relatively simple procedure - just
like any woman undergoing in vitro fertilization. The expectant
couple is made comfortable with a beautiful, well-appointed, and
extremely large home. Paul returns to work with a plum job teaching
biology at the local high school. The Duncan's settle in, make
friends and eagerly await the birth of their son.
Soon Jessie gives birth at Wells' Godsend Fertility Clinic. The new
Adam appears to be a perfect replica in every way, down to very the
last cell. His life follows a comfortingly similar pattern until he
passes his eighth birthday - and Adam, unaware that he has reached
a milestone, literally begins living on borrowed time.
The Duncan's placid life is shattered at first by Adam's screams in
the night. The boy, unconscious, is raced to the clinic where Wells
diagnoses night terrors, a disturbing but benign sleep disorder
that is not uncommon in children. Adam wakes the following morning,
apparently fine, but with vague memories of what he describes as
weird dreams.
Already gravely concerned for their son, it becomes obvious to Paul
and Jessie that something is wrong. His dreams become visions that
disturb him as much as his parents. Adam is seized by sporadic mood
and personality changes that are shockingly different from the
sweet and loving boy they knew through both of his lives.
Paul starts to reconsider his pact with Wells and thinks that maybe
it is time to take Adam to an actual pediatrician rather than Wells
who, while admittedly brilliant and responsible for Adam's very
life, is a geneticist, not a pediatrician. Paul also starts to
question Wells' motives, wondering if there could be a deeper or
darker truth.
Adam spirals into the world of his visions, seemingly catching
glimpses of another place and perhaps even another time. A palpable
sense of menace seems to hang about the boy. As he lashes out at
home and at school, this beautiful boy begins to seem dangerous.
When a schoolmate drowns, Paul forces himself to consider the
implication of what they have done and asks himself: how far did
Wells really go? Were there darker forces at work as he "played
God" with their son?
Paul uncovers the secrets of Dr. Well's past. In a violent and
dramatic confrontation, the full, sickening truth comes out.
From this moment on, the Duncan's will have to come to terms with
what they have done and what has been done to them.
