Shuuzou "Shuu" Matsutani leads a typical, peaceful life. He has friends, a crush on a girl, and a dedication to kendo. After feeling down about losing to his kendo rival, Shuu climbs a smokestack to watch the sunset and meets Lala-Ru, a quiet girl with blue hair who wears an unusual pendant. Shuu tries to befriend her, even though she gives only uninterested, bland replies.
His hopes are dashed when a woman, accompanied by two serpentine machines, appears out of thin air with the sole purpose of capturing Lala-Ru. Stubborn as he is, Shuu attempts to rescue his new acquaintance from her kidnappers and is transported to a desert world unlike anything he has ever known. Despite the circumstances, Shuu focuses only on saving Lala-Ru until he is severely beaten by soldiers. He soon learns that Lala-Ru can control water, and her pendant is the source of this ability—a precious resource in his new, arid surroundings. But now the pendant is missing, and Shuu is the main suspect.
Ima, Soko ni Iru Boku is a haunting tale of a dystopian world, following Shuu as he endures torture, hunger, and the horrors of war to save the lonely girl he found sitting on a smokestack.