Los Angeles, 1984: John Moore, a cancer patient, finds out that his doctor has cultivated and patented his unique "golden" cells, and then sold them to pharmaceutical companies, all without his consent or even awareness. He decides to take his doctor to court over the rights on the infinite cell-line. Supreme Court judges are asked to decide : does John Moore have rights over his own cells? Can private companies own a stake in our bodies? Where do we draw the line between the "thing" and the "person"?