Struggling to cope with his sudden transformation and ravenous hunger, Ken Kaneki is taken in by Yoshimura, the benevolent manager of Anteiku, a quiet neighborhood coffee shop that secretly serves as a sanctuary for peaceful Ghouls. Here, Kaneki learns the intricate rules of survival, how to Blend into human society, and how to utilize coffee to suppress his dark impulses. He forms an uneasy alliance with the fiercely independent and abrasive Touka Kirishima, who reluctantly teaches him how to defend himself. However, danger closes in on the 20th Ward as CCG Investigators (known as 'Doves'), led by the ruthless, obsessed Kureo Mado and his partner Kotaro Amon, begin systematically hunting down Ghouls, creating an atmosphere of intense paranoia and terror.