Thanks to the Sibyl System, the mental states of society can now be measured on a numerical scale. Using these crime coefficients, a culprit can be apprehended before they ever commit a crime. But is it a perfect system? For Inspectors Kei Mikhail Ignatov and Arata Shindou, that remains to be seen, as their career with the Public Safety Bureau's Crime Investigation Department has only just begun. Shindou and Ignatov are assigned to investigate the crash of a ship carrying immigrants, but they begin to suspect that it was no mere accident. Meanwhile, a mysterious group called Bifrost is observing them from the shadows, but they are not the only ones who have taken an interest in the two new Inspectors.

Shinya Kougami continues to wander the Southeast Asian Union (SEAUn) away from the eyes of the Sibyl System in Japan. While traveling through the Tibet-Himalayan Alliance Kingdom, Kougami encounters Guillermo Garcia—commander of a paramilitary group attempting to unite the local factions and bring peace to the war-torn nation. Wary of joining another mercenary group, Kougami declines to join his cause, but agrees to be driven to the nearby Tibetan capital by one of Garcia's men. However, Kougami's plan to remain uninvolved is short-lived when a bus of refugees are ambushed by armed guerrillas. Among them is a half-Japanese, half-Tibetan girl named Tenzing Wangchuck. Impressed with Kougami's fighting prowess as he single-handedly takes the attackers out, Wangchuck requests him to teach her how to fight so she can take revenge against the warlord who murdered her family. Knowing first-hand that there is no turning back to the person you were once you take a human life, Kougami is initially reluctant to accept her request. But faced with the girl's desire for vengeance that mirrors the haunting abyss inside his own heart, will he train her?

Justice, and the enforcement of it, has changed. In the 22nd century, Japan enforces the Sibyl System, an objective means of determining the threat level of each citizen by examining their mental state for signs of criminal intent, known as their Psycho-Pass. Inspectors uphold the law by subjugating, often with lethal force, anyone harboring the slightest ill-will; alongside them are Enforcers, jaded Inspectors that have become latent criminals, granted relative freedom in exchange for carrying out the Inspectors' dirty work. Into this world steps Akane Tsunemori, a young woman with an honest desire to uphold justice. However, as she works alongside veteran Enforcer Shinya Kougami, she soon learns that the Sibyl System's judgments are not as perfect as her fellow Inspectors assume. With everything she has known turned on its head, Akane wrestles with the question of what justice truly is, and whether it can be upheld through the use of a system that may already be corrupt.

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.