In the vast, domed cities of Earth, artificial intelligence is strictly controlled; in the distant Outer Worlds, colonists and robots live side by side.

A Spacer ambassador is found dead and detective Elijah Baley is assigned to find the killer. But with relations between the two cultures in the balance, the Spacers insist that he work with a partner of their choosing - a robot partner, R. Daneel Olivaw.

Baley has never seen a robot like Daneel before - almost indistinguishable from a human - and soon, though the Three Laws of Robotics should render the crime impossible, Baley's partner becomes his prime suspect.