Rune Balot is weeping and attempting to save both herself and a severely injured Oeufcoque from Shell's assassin, Boiled. Fortunately for her, Doctor Easter finally arrives in the Humpty Dumpty—a specialized militarized vehicle designed to protect those in Welfare cases if their lives are threatened. From there, they travel to Paradise, where the Scramble 09 technology (and Boiled's rebirth) was developed. All of the secrets regarding the past of Mardock City (and possibly its future) are revealed in this riveting second part of the Mardock Scramble series, raising the stakes and forcing Balot to choose between justice for herself or peace within Paradise instead.