After suffering through a long and unsuccessful series of fertility treatments, Satoko and her husband Kiyokazu make the decision to adopt a child. Six years after adopting a boy they named Asato, Satoko has quit her job to concentrate fully on her husband and son. The family lives a peaceful existence until the arrival of a stranger.
Death-row inmate Sudo sends a letter to magazine reporter Fujii. In his letter, he states that a man named Kimura, also known as "teacher," committed numerous murders for insurance money. While checking out the story, based on Sudo's tip, Fuji becomes convinced that the letter is correct. But, a lot of time has passed from the incidents and Sudo's testimony isn't clear. Due to the persistance of Sudo, who is a former yakuza, and Fuji, the police begin to move.
Rino Sakuragi (Yuna Taira) is a high school student. She is good friends with Ren Kiritani (Alan Shirahama) who attends the same high school. They have been close since their middle school days. Rino holds special feelings for Ren Kiritani, but she is unable to tell him how she feels because he is popular. One day, Ren confesses to Rino that he likes her. They begin to date and enjoy their time together, but Rino is diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).
It is the 1950’s, and the protagonist, identified only as ‘I,’ has come from Tokyo to study, burdened by the high expectations of his poor family in northeastern Japan. He meets a young woman named Shino who works in a small restaurant in the Komagome area of Tokyo. They fall in love, and he takes her to his family home through the heavy snow for their wedding. He introduces Shino to his elderly parents and his sister; they spend their wedding night together listening to bells ringing on sleighs gliding past across the moonlit snow. The next morning, wrapped in their small world of happiness, they go to a hot spring in the mountains to begin their honeymoon.
