In the impoverished district of Martinaise within the city of Revachol, a detective wakes up in a trashed hostel room with no memory of who he is. A severe hangover and what appears to be drug-induced amnesia have erased his identity entirely. He is met by Lieutenant Kim Kitsuragi, who informs him they have been assigned to investigate the death of a man found hanged in an empty lot behind the hostel. The victim's identity is unclear, and the scene suggests he was lynched by a group. As the amnesiac detective and his partner explore the district, following leads and helping residents, the detective gradually learns he is Harrier ""Harry"" Du Bois, a decorated officer of the Revachol Citizens Militia. Something broke in him years ago, triggering a catastrophic spiral that culminated in a three-day drinking binge around Martinaise just before the case began. Now he must piece together both the murder and himself, navigating the political tensions of a city still under foreign occupation decades after a failed communist revolution, while the union dockworkers' strike and a squad of rogue mercenaries threaten to engulf Martinaise in violence.