Never Let Me Go takes place in a dystopian version of late 1990s England, where the lives of

ordinary citizens are prolonged through a state-sanctioned program of human cloning. The
clones, referred to as students, grow up in special institutions away from the outside world.
As young adults, they begin to donate their vital organs. All “donors” receive care from
designated “carers,” clones who have not yet begun the donation process. The clones
continue to donate organs until they “complete,” which is a euphemism for death after the
donation of three or four organs. However, this premise is not immediately apparent to the
reader. At the start of the novel, narrator Kathy H. merely introduces herself as a thirty-one-
year-old carer. She has been a carer for nearly twelve years, but will leave her role in a few
months. Kathy explains that she wants to revisit her memories of Tommy and Ruth, two
friends who grew up with her at the Hailsham school. Kathy does not explain the donation
program, or mention that Hailsham students are clones.

Although Kathy’s narration is often nonlinear, the novel’s three parts roughly align with three
stages in her life. In Part One, Kathy remembers her childhood at Hailsham. She describes
her friendship with Ruth, whose temperamental personality contrasts with her own quiet
demeanor. At Hailsham, Ruth often annoys Kathy by pretending to have special knowledge
and privileges. Kathy also describes Tommy, a student known for throwing violent temper
tantrums. Tommy is initially an outcast among his peers because he lacks artistic ability,
which the Hailsham staff (part teacher, part parent figures known as “guardians”), and its
students value highly. Kathy sympathizes with Tommy, and tries to calm him down during
one of his tantrums. Tommy later learns to control his temper after a guardian named Miss
Lucy assures him that it is not necessary for him to be creative.