A severed hand is found in a van in the outskirts of Tokyo. Kenichi Takaoka, a contractor, goes missing, leaving his garage covered in blood. Lt. Reiko Himekawa is on the case, and when the hand is identified as Takaoka's, she's investigating a murder. Reiko is plunged into a world of past sins, forced suicides, and the shadowy control of the yakuza. But Takaoka's body is missing, and his childhood friend swears the missing man is not Takaoka at all...