R. O. D. (Read or Die) is about a substitute teacher, Yomiko Readman (codename: The Paper). Her house is filled with books. When she's not teaching, she spends her free time searching for more books to fill her collection. This must sound pretty boring, but in actuality, Yomiko is a secret agent for the Royal British Library's Division of Special Operations. After buying her newest addition to her book collection, she ran into a giant cricket and an old man who try to steal the book. Her organization assigns her a new partner and she is able to get the second volume of the rare book series. She is not too happy that she has to quit her substituting job, but she is ready for the new assignment.