Tokyo in the early Shōwa period. Narushima Ayako, the heroine who grew up in Asakusa, lives with her father, who runs a sweets shop. She works as a typist.
On a weekend when her eldest brother was finally coming home for a visit, they ordered delivery from the neighborhood sushi shop and enjoyed a cozy family dinner together. Suddenly, her father Shōzō spoke up.
"I got a letter from someone with a name I don’t recognize."
The envelope he showed her was from an unfamiliar “law office,” and inside was a message containing an unexpected and serious matter:
“My name is Gamo Tatsuhiko of the Yanaka Law Office. I am the legal representative of the late tycoon Onuma Saburō, who passed away recently. I have something to discuss with you regarding the inheritance of his estate.”
It was an inheritance of dizzying, unimaginable wealth.
(What is this…? A rich man’s inheritance? This is just like something out of a girls’ romance novel.)
Although bewildered, Ayako agreed to hear what Lawyer Gamo had to say. When Gamo arrived at their home—where her second eldest brother had also rushed over so the whole family was present—he made Ayako a strange request: He wanted her to attend the upcoming public reading of Onuma’s will and assist in the execution of the inheritance.
No further details could be given until the will was read. Apparently, Ayako herself would not actually inherit anything. The vagueness of it all only fueled her doubt and anxiety. And at that very gathering, Ayako learned a shocking secret that concerned her personally. Before leaving, Lawyer Gamo asked her to trust him and to attend.
Weighed down by sadness, unease, and confusion, Ayako was gently comforted by her childhood friend Saeki Junichi, whom she had not seen in a long time. Then, looking straight into her eyes, he proposed to her. Though startled by his sudden words, a tender warmth spread through Ayako’s heart. As the date of the will’s public reading drew closer, Jun’ichi’s strong words of encouragement pushed Ayako toward agreeing to attend.
And so, on the appointed day, the heirs to the estate gathered at the hotel. If you love someone, someone else will hate you. What is the truth? Who is truly on your side? With each blink of an eye, the mystery twists and deepens, like a bottomless swamp.
Can the heroine, wandering through the labyrinth of a dark night, grasp her destined love?
