
When Dr. Susan L. Fitch - a chief of surgery, no less - decided to have a child, her approach to that problem was identical to her personality - clinical, thorough, efficient and emotionless. She found the perfect donor, and from day one made her daughter into another successful experiment. So Elizabeth Fitch (satisfactory physical condition, pleasant yet not quite sufficiently beautiful, and with IQ around 210) grew up in a controlled environment, with big plans to fulfill and another's steps to follow.
The only detail that went wrong (before the point when Elizabeth decided she wants
her own life, not her mother's idea of it) is the fact that Dr. Susan L. Fitch did not realize she is absolutely incapable of love - not for her child or anything else there is in life.