Clive (Adrian Brody) and Elsa (Sarah Polley) are genetic engineers who splice the DNA of various animals for research, creating two vivisected specimens named Ginger and Fred. After initial success on a small scale, the two plan to splice DNA with a human.
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Joan (Simona Maicanescu), their boss, forbids them from conducting experiments with humans, but they do anyway, resulting in Dren - a mutant - whom they hide and let grow. As Dren grows, she learns and becomes smarter.
The two spend most of their attention on Dren and neglect Fred and Ginger, and at a public reveal of those creatures, Ginger attacks and eats Fred. Clive soon learns that Ginger had mutated into a male - a fact they missed due to concentrating on Ren. This signals problems with their research.
Eventually, Clive learns that Elsa used her own DNA in the making of Dren - rather than the “anonymous” DNA she told him was used. Eventually, Dren seduces Clive and Elsa finds out - leading to a heated fight about Elsa's refusal to have a child.
Later, Dren is found ill and dies, with the two scientists burying her. But Dren isn't dead. She's mutating, and the two scientists must reconcile in order to stop the creature they have engineered.