In the wee hours of a 1960s Tokyo morning, a dead body is found under
the rails of a train, and the victim's face is so badly damaged that
police have a hard time figuring out the victim's identity. Only two
clues surface: an old man, overheard talking in a distinctive accent to
a young man, and the word "kameda." Inspector Imanishi leaves his
beloved bonsai and his haiku and goes off to investigate--and runs up
against a blank wall. Months pass in fruitless questioning, in following
up leads, until the case is closed, unsolved.
But Imanishi is dissatisfied, and a series of coincidences lead him back
to the case. Why did a young woman scatter pieces of white paper out of
the window of a train? Why did a bar girl leave for home right after
Imanishi spoke to her? Why did an actor, on the verge of telling
Imanishi something important, drop dead of a heart attack? What can a
group of nouveau young artists possibly have to do with the murder of a
quiet and "saintly" provincial old ex-policemen? Inspector Imanishi
investigates.