Youko and Harumi have been friends since youth as their life circumstances were similar. Youko ends up marrying a politician and publishes a successful picture book basen on Harumi's life, when her son suddenly gets abducted.
An employee of a bank goes missing following his retirement from the bank. Veteran detective Yobuno (Koji Yakusho), who is set to retire himself, is charged with the investigating the missing person case. Det. Yobuno quickly finds more mysterious as he delves into the case, but a woman named Keiko Fukumura (Eri Fukatsu) surfaces who may hold the key to case.
Two Osaka comedians, Makoto (Tomomitsu Yamaguchi) and Kinta (Go Morita), are riding bicycles in Tokyo when they're hit by a dump truck. They regain consciousness in 1945, but not of their own bodies. Somehow, their souls have been transported into the bodies of two tokkotai (special forces, or "kamikaze") pilots. Having grown up in a peaceful, carefree Japan, the two comedians experience severe disorientation at having to suddenly deal with the realities of war. They attempt to escape their squadron, knowing that Japan will eventually lose the war, but are nevertheless moved by the young men they meet, all of whom have very different opinions about their fate and the responsibilities that have been placed upon them.
A double suicide happens in Morioka in Iwate Prefecture. The two were employees of rival real estate companies. A prosecutor who senses a setup exposes the truth.