The planet is severely polluted and mass overpopulation has restricted all available resources. Permanent thick smog has settled over the cities of Earth, and all animals are extinct. To reduce the population, the world’s government decrees that no children may be conceived for the next 30 years. Breaking this law will result in the death penalty for the parents and the newborn. To quell the yearning for children, couples visit ‘Babyland’ where they are given life-size animatronic infants to take home.
Russ (Oliver Reed) and Carol McNeil (Geraldine Chaplin) work in a museum recreating life from the 20th century. Carol, desperate for a child of her own, avoids the abortion machine installed in their bathroom to remain pregnant. After the child’s birth, the couple must shield the baby from being discovered, not only from the prying eyes of the Big Brother-like government, but also from the jealousy of their own friends and neighbours