After the death of Tatsuya’s only son, the family loses the only male heir to their family name. The tragedy also causes Tatsuya’s wife to leave him. As a result, the family’s sickly mother pressures Tatsuya to remarry, albeit with a woman he is not sure he truly cares for. Tatsuya’s daughter, Yuko, also feels obligated to keep the family going and considers marrying a man as a Mukoyoshi, which means he will adopt Yuko’s family name, yet she is reluctant to do this because of her feelings for someone else. Both Tatsuya and Yuko are caught in a dilemma that forces them to choose between family obligation and their own desires.