Alchemy: the mystical power to alter the natural world; something between magic, art and science. When two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, dabbled in this power to grant their dearest wish, one of them lost an arm and a leg…and the other became nothing but a soul locked into a body of living steel. Now Edward is an agent of the government, a slave of the military-alchemical complex, using his unique powers to obey orders…even to kill. Except his powers aren't unique. The world has been ravaged by the abuse of alchemy. And in pursuit of the ultimate alchemical treasure, the Philosopher's Stone, their enemies are even more ruthless than they are…

There are many types of alchemy in the world. Edward's commanding officer, "Flame Alchemist" Roy Mustang, can control fire. Shou Tucker, the "Sewing-Life Alchemist," specializes in the most difficult alchemy of all...biological transmutation, the ability to alter the tissue of living things. But no matter what their power, alchemists are still human. And when a mysterious killer begins stalking state alchemists, no one can escape his vengeance...

Accompanied by their bodyguard, Alex Louis Armstrong, our heroes seek out their closest childhood friend, Winry Rockbell, to fix their battered "auto-mail" bodyparts. Soon their quest for the Philosopher's Stone takes them to the great central library, where the Stone's formula may be hidden...if the mysterious figure named Lust doesn't get there first! But the secret of the Philosopher's Stone may be even more frightening than the beings who guard it...

Trapped and injured in a secret alchemical laboratory, Edward Elric is at the mercy of his enemies, Lust and Envy. But they don't want him dead...they have other plans for him. As the laboratory goes up in flames, the brothers find themselves back at square one, with only an inkling of the massive scale of the Philosopher's Stone conspiracy. But then, Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes uncovers a shocking secret...

Ed, Alphonse and their mechanic Winry go south in search of Izumi Curtis, the master alchemist who taught the brothers how to use alchemy. But in the boomtown of Rush Valley, an encounter with a pickpocket turns them down a different path in search of an auto-mail blacksmith whose handiwork is the best that Winry has ever seen. Then the action flashes back to the past to show how Ed and Alphonse first learned alchemy...

The origin of the Elric Brothers! Once, Edward and Alphonse Elric were willing to do anything to become alchemists. But when they tried to use their newfound skills to resurrect their dead mother, they broke a taboo and encountered something more terrifying than death itself. Now, hardened by years of military training, Edward and Alphonse have returned to the woman who first taught them alchemy...but can she help them, or even forgive them?

Where did Alphonse Elric go during the few short minutes he was wiped from existence, body and soul? From a secret lair in the city of Dublith, a group of outcasts kidnaps Alphonse to find the alchemical secrets of his creation! It's up to Ed (and a certain housewife) to go into the Devil's Nest and rescue his brother. But the criminals of the Devil's Nest aren't exactly human either. Now, Al must fight a homunculus--an artificial human being--and the streets of Dublith will run red with blood...

The raid on the Devil's Nest becomes a slaughter, as government troops--led by the Führer President himself, King Bradley--exterminate the half-human forces of the Homunculus Greed. But will Ed and Al survive the battle unchanged? As Greed is sent to meet his maker, foreign travelers arrive in Amestris, having crossed the great desert from the eastern country of Xing. Their names are Mei and Ling, and they've come for the Philosopher's Stone...and a secret even the Elric brothers never imagined...

Ed, Al and Winry return to Central Command, but only bad news greets the Fullmetal Alchemist and his friends. Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes has been murdered--and Second Lieutenant Maria Ross is the prime suspect! While Maria awaits an uncertain fate in jail, the living suit of armor bearing the soul of serial killer "Barry the Chopper" breaks free of the military and goes on a rampage. Now, the mysterious Homunculi must come out of the shadows to deal with the mess before their monstrous conspiracy is exposed. But for Colonel Mustang, Maes Hughes's former best friend, it's not about the truth; it's about revenge...

Barry the Chopper, the psychopathic killer whose soul is encased in a suit of armor, has been captured by Colonel Mustang's troops. Fearing he will reveal the Philosopher's Stone conspiracy, Gluttony and Lust decide to kill him, using Barry's own original soulless body to track him down! Though Colonel Mustang has anticipated their moves and set up an ambush, Gluttony and Lust prove too powerful and easily fight their way through to Barry, who is being protected by Al and Lieutenant Hawkeye. In a terrible battle, a badly injured Colonel Mustang sacrifices all in a last-ditch attempt to stop Lust!

Ed returns to Resemboul and meets his father Hohenheim for the first time in many years. Although his father is happy to see him, Ed harbors intense feelings of resentment for being all but abandoned many years ago. However, anger gives way to intrigue as Ed and Al discover an important fact about the human transmutation ritual they attempted years before. What they thought was a partial resurrection of their mother was something else entirely--a revelation that could change their destiny forever.

The hunters become the hunted when the Elric brothers and Prince Lin set a trap for the homunculus with the insatiable appetite--Gluttony! On another front, state politics are shaken up when a horrifying truth about Führer President King Bradley is revealed--and Colonel Roy Mustang is right there to capitalize on the situation.

In the midst of a heated battle, Ed and Prince Lin of Xing are swallowed whole by the homunculus Gluttony. Will they survive the depths of Gluttony's gullet like Jonah inside the whale, or has Al lost his brother for good? And the political power structure of the military may be irreparably shattered when Colonel Mustang confronts Führer President King Bradley with his horrifying suspicion that Bradley is a homunculous!

Ed and Al come face to face with the "father" of the homunculi, who just so happens to be a dead ringer for their own father, Van Hohenheim--a resemblance too uncanny for coincidence. And later, when the allure of immortality proves to be too much for Prince Lin of Xin, he lets Greed take over...literally!

The horrors of the Ishbalan extermination campaign had serious repercussions, which set the tone for the complicated dealings of present-day state politics. Lieutenant Hawkeye reluctantly tells Ed all the dreaded details of the role Colonel Mustang and the other state alchemists played in this tragic event.

The brothers pursue fugitive May Chang to solve the mystery of why their alchemical powers were rendered inert while she and Scar continued to be able to wield them. Meanwhile, Scar enlists some unlikely help to delve into the secrets of his brother's alchemical knowledge. And the newest, most horrifying homunculus makes an appearance...!