The Empathy Test is a revolutionary technology. Research has confirmed that there is an identifiable correlation between anti-social behaviour and having measured below the threshold of the Empathy Test.

All individuals are free to take the test, and, if they pass, to be marked in the public register of the Icelandic Psychologist Association, thereby proving to society that they are reliable citizens. Leaders and other powerful individuals have had to mark themselves, businesses are marking themselves, and new districts are emerging that the unmarked do not have access to.

The Icelandic nation is divided. One half wants a safer society and the other a just society. The main characters of the story, Vetur, Oya, Ólavur and Tristan, have all had to adapt to the new ethos, and a national referendum lies ahead, which is going to determine whether the Empathy Test is to become mandatory.