Stand Alone Complex takes place in the year 2030, in the fictional
Japanese city of New Port. The story follows the members of Public
Security Section 9, a special-operations task-force made up of former
military officers and police detectives. The manga presents individual
cases that Section 9 investigates, along with an ongoing, more serious
investigation into the serial killer and hacker known only as The
Laughing Man.
When a high-ranking government official is kidnapped, the Prime Minister
must call in his top crime fighting force known as Section 9. Lead by
the beautiful (and deadly) Major Kusanagi, the cybernetically enhanced
squad must use all their skill to take down the kidnappers and rescue
the hostages. But that's only half of the mission; can Kusanagi and
company find out who's behind the kidnapping, and, more importantly,
just what they're after? Find out in this thrilling first volume of The
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex!