Oe introduces Kogito Choko, a writer in his early sixties, as he rekindles a chi
ldhood friendship with his estranged brother-in-law, the renowned filmmaker Goro
Hanawa. Goro sends Kogito a trunk of tapes he has recorded of reflections about
their friendship, but as Kogito is listening one night, he hears something odd.
"I'm going to head over to the Other Side now," Goro says, and then Kogito hear
s a loud thud. After a moment of silence, Goro's voice continues: "But don't wor
ry, I'm not going to stop communicating with you." Moments later, Kogito's wife
rushes in; Goro has jumped to his death. With that, Kogito begins a far-ranging
search to understand what drove his brother-in-law to suicide. His quest takes h
im from the forests of southern Japan to the washed-out streets of Berlin, where
Kogito confronts the ghosts from his own past and that of his lifelong, but dep
arted, friend.
