Rune Balot is a destitute teenage prostitute in Mardock City. One day, she is taken in by Shell, an ambitious casino manager, who provides her with everything she desires. Restored by a fabricated innocence, a fabricated past, and the artificial life Shell has bestowed upon her, Balot feels grateful. However, she cannot suppress her curiosity regarding his motives for treating her so well, so she investigates his history on a computer. This proves to be a mistake that will drastically alter her life. Upon discovering her actions, Shell attempts to burn her to death by detonating her car. Due to the high crime rate in Mardock, a new law known as "Scramble 09" grants police unrestricted authority to employ extreme and otherwise illegal measures to revive crime witnesses. With this in mind, they permit a professor to pull Balot back from the brink of death by reconstructing her entire body using reinforced synthetic fiber. When she finally awakens, her confused mental state eventually shifts toward revenge as Shell is revealed to be her killer.