Ergo Proxy is a story of a doomed future. Mankind has declined so much that it cannot maintain its cities -- and in many cities there are no humans left at all. Robots do the manual labor, and a virus is spreading that gives robots the ability to be self-aware and defy their programming.
In this backdrop strange creatures called "proxies" are killing people. Re-l (Ree-el) is going about her task as an investigator when she comes across a proxy in human form and does not turn him into the city authorities. Her association with the proxy leads to conflict, a long journey, questions about the future of the human race, but most importantly, Re-l's understanding of herself as a person.
