On the planet Amoi, a supercomputer named Jupiter gained self-awareness and overthrew its human creators. Jupiter banished natural humans from the central city of Tanagura and created the Elites, a class of cyborgs with artificial bodies and enhanced organic brains. The Elites are ranked by hair color under the Noram system, with Blondies at the top. Humans were relegated to the satellite city Midas, where every aspect of their lives is controlled by the system called Zein. A rebellion in the district of Ceres resulted in Jupiter granting it independence, but Ceres was cut off and left to fend for itself. It ultimately collapsed into a lawless slum inhabited by mongrels, the lowest social class. Ceres practices natural reproduction, which has led to a severe gender imbalance with males outnumbering females nine to one. Among the Elites, Pets are genetically engineered humans bred as status symbols and entertainment. The highest-ranking Blondies are entitled to Academy-produced purebred pets. Elites have no interest in sex themselves but observe Pets copulating at mating parties. Castrated adolescent boys called Furniture tend to the needs of both Elites and their Pets and are regarded as mere objects.

Iason Mink is a Blondy who heads the Market Intelligence Department and secretly controls the black-market Syndicate. He is elegant and calm on the surface but ruthless and manipulative beneath. When Iason encounters Riki, a defiant young mongrel from the Ceres slums, he makes the unprecedented decision to take Riki as his personal Pet. This act is a grave taboo in Tanagura, where Pets are expected to be well-bred and of a rank appropriate to their owner. For Riki, being taken as a Pet means the loss of his freedom and his former life. He had been the charismatic leader of a Ceres gang called Bison and was revered in the slums. Three years after his disappearance, Riki unexpectedly returns to Ceres. He is a changed man, haunted by what happened during his time away, and he finds that his old gang is under threat from rival factions. Riki must navigate gang warfare while being pulled back into Iason s orbit. Riki struggles with his feelings for Iason, the dangers Iason faces for keeping a mongrel Pet, and his lingering ties to his old friend and former lover Gai and to the gang he left behind. As Riki learns more about the risks Iason incurs by defying Jupiter s social order, he begins to develop feelings for his master in return. The story explores the rigid caste system, social exclusion, the dehumanizing nature of the Pet system, and the implications of a society governed by an all-powerful artificial intelligence. Conflicts arise from Riki s past loyalties in Ceres intersecting with Iason s high-stakes political maneuvers within Tanagura s elite circles. The narrative also follows supporting characters including Raoul Am, another Blondy and Iason s friend who is concerned about his choices; Katze, a human who serves as Iason s underling and helps manipulate Riki; Kirie, an agent used to set traps for Riki; and Gai, Riki s old friend and former lover from Ceres. The central relationship between Iason and Riki develops against a backdrop of societal oppression, political intrigue, and personal transformation, ultimately examining whether love can exist within a system that denies it any place.