Ayane is the daughter of a karaage (fried food) store owner, but she never liked karaage. Eventually, she left home, only to return 5 years later. Her family lives in the city of Usa in Oita Prefecture, Japan. She brings with her a young girl named Shirley, who is her step-daughter from her ex-husband.
26-year-old Shogo Washio sense danger from the expansion of Asian superpower nation Ouran. Shogo Washio teams up with Kenzo Nakagishi and establishes a new political party. He loses in the elections to gain a seat in the house of representatives. A few years later Japan is now invaded by the country of Ouran and falls under the military occupation of that country. Basic freedoms like speech and religion are lost, while protestors are killed. In this environment, Shogo Washio joins the underground resistance organization ROLE.
When a pastry chef is undergoing a slump and cannot consistently make the store's trademark cherry pie anymore, she begins practicing after hours. Nothing works however. One night she receives a call at the store from a cherry orchard owner who used to be the shop's supplier. The supplier has something he wants to return.
Hanatani Village in the valley of Tokushima Prefecture is going to be submerged when a dam is constructed. In order to preserve the beauty of the place for future generations, the villagers decide to take photographs of all the families in the village. Kenichi, the only photographer in the village, is put in charge of the project. He calls his son Takashi, an aspiring photographer, to help him with the task. Takashi is puzzled since his father and he are not at all close, but as they visit each family in turn and Takashi sees his father working, Takashi's feelings towards his father begin to change.
