The story follows six middle-aged men who have experienced success and failures in their lives. One day, they decide to become an idol group and overcome such barriers as their age and their physical condition.

Humanity is facing extinction. In a snow-covered world where water has become scarce, the last habitable lands are located at the feet of gigantic Orbital Trees scattered about the desolated Earth. According to a legend, there exists a sage who knows the secret to producing abundant quantities of water to save mankind. Liliha, the princess of Atland, uses an organic hot-air balloon to climb to the top of an Orbital Tree in hopes of meeting her country's savior. Once she reaches the Canopy—an area that appears to be an infinite window of transparent ice—she meets Kaina, one of the last men alive on the Canopy. However, she can not find the man she was looking for. Unable to return by herself to her country, the princess finds a helping hand in Kaina, who is eager to explore the surface world that he thought was empty. As Kaina learns about the war against Liliha's country, the antagonistic technologically advanced nation Valghan, and other perils of the surface, he realizes that his escorting mission will prove more difficult than he imagined.

Sightings of mysterious creatures known as "Hologram Ghosts" have been a popular topic on social networks for the past few years. According to the rumors, several people have fallen victim to these specters. Those fortunate to survive their encounters with the paranormal beings claim that they resembled glitched holograms. Hazakura Academy middle school student Hiro Amanokawa believes these sightings are merely an urban legend. However, as the incidents start to increase in frequency, he is reminded of the day his father suddenly vanished, with strange digital watches serving as the only relics of his disappearance. Much like the other sightings, what happened to Hiro's father cannot be explained by conventional logic. One day, when a fellow student in the academy is attacked by a Hologram Ghost, Hiro and his friend Kiyoshirou Higashimitarai decide to look into the matter. Little does Hiro know that this investigation will be their first step toward discovering a dangerous world previously unknown to mankind.

A runaway vehicle driven by Izumi Yasaka, en route to the Public Safety Bureau building, is reported shortly before it crashes into the building. Izumi is a counselor who recently ran away while working at a latent criminal isolation and rehabilitation facility known as Sanctuary. Before Inspectors Mika Shimotsuki and Akane Tsunemori get to interrogate the suspect, a sudden request is issued from the facility to promptly bring Izumi back. Interpreted as a direct order from the Chief and the board at Sanctuary, the Inspectors obey, but insist that Izumi be escorted back personally. Tsunemori intends to investigate further with the rest of the team at the Bureau. Now Inspector Shimotsuki has finally been given the opportunity she had been waiting for—to be the primary investigator on an important case. This case follows Shimotsuki and her team of Enforcers as they uncover the secrets of Sanctuary.