Based on the novel by Ryū Murakami, the story involves a lonely widower named Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi), still mourning the death of his wife, who is encouraged by his friend Yoshikawa and his 17-year-old son Shigehiko, to begin dating again. They set up a mock audition, with the goal that he would marry the most beautiful and charming of the women. After the first round of interviews, he finds himself falling in love with a beautiful, soft-spoken former ballerina, Asami Yamazaki (Eihi Shiina), who was forced to quit dancing after an injury. He calls her, and shortly thereafter everything starts going horribly wrong.