In a future city divided by neon, Dane walks between luxury and darkness as an "emotional taster". His numb tongue tastes the despair, fear and cheap happiness forcibly extracted from others for the rich and powerful. These emotions, called "quintessence", are the most expensive luxury goods and weights in the struggle for power in the upper class. During a routine tasting, an essence labeled "Hope" tore through the high wall he had built: the pure, majestic, dying but brilliant vitality violently burned his silent soul. Dane could no longer stay away from the matter. Following the source of the essence, he stepped into the mud of the slums and found a girl named Leah. In order to save her dying brother Terry, she voluntarily signed a contract to sacrifice her life to the ruthless rich man Campbell. This ultimate hope was ignited by her with her last candlelight. Dane decided to break the rules, save Leah, and stop this "hope" transaction. However, Campbell's shadow is everywhere, and Dane must fight against the huge capital machine, Leah's desperate resignation, and the unpredictable power that quietly grows in his body due to his taste of the world. This is a desperate fight for a small hope, and it is also the cruelest inquiry into the value of life.
