Jonas lives in a perfect world where pain and sadness have been effectively removed, along with color, choice, and love. He expects that on his twelfth birthday he'll be assigned an occupation like every other child. Instead Jonas is singled out to be the apprentice of the mysterious Giver, an old man very different than anyone Jonas has ever met. Jonas must become the new Receiver of Memory, carrying all the memories of how life was before for the community, opening his eyes to emotion and true humanity and changing the course of his life forever.