CODE 46 is set in a future when a law prohibits procreation unless the couple can establish that they are not genetically linked. The culture has become as homogenized as the DNA. All cities have the same sort of pan-global sameness. And travel is restricted to those who can secure official passports called "papelles." William (Tim Robbins) is an investigator who uses an "empathy virus" to enhance his natural intuition and talent for figuring out who is telling the truth. He is investigating the disappearance of papelles from its manufacturer. He has an affair with one of the suspects, and she becomes pregnant. But it is a Code 46 violation, so she must be taken away for an abortion and memory erasure. He finds her again, but she has no recollection of him. William takes her away for what could be a moment of a kind of freedom for both of them, but there are so many obstacles, legal, practical, chemical, cultural, that it may not be possible.