Sometime in the distant future, humanity has managed to survive, but only in isolated cities and through the use of cloning and robotic servants called Autoraves. Life in the cities is strictly controlled by management dedicated to preserving their 'utopian' way of life. But something is causing the Autoraves to become independent and is driving them to seek to escape the city.  Re-l Mayer, a female inspector from the Citizen Information Board, learns that the awakening of the Autoraves is caused by an encounter with something called a Proxy. In seeking to learn more, Re-l stumbles into a secret that management is desperately trying to hide and will go to any length to keep suppressed.