During the weekend retreat that opens the film, Akari (Sachie Tanaka), a nurse without a filter, declares, "The future for 37-year-old women is bright." Counters Sakurako (Hazuki Kikuchi), a soft-spoken homemaker, "But it's dismal out there." Sakurako's marriage is more functional than fulfilling, and her teenage son is going through a sulky phase. Fumi (Maiko Mihara), an arts curator, appears to be happily married, but her editor husband's working relationship with a 25-year-old writer makes her uncomfortable. After eight unhappy years, Jun (Rira Kawamura) is in the midst of a divorce. As she tells the judge about her husband: "Violence is not the only form of abuse." After a trip to a hot springs, three of the women return to Kobe, expecting Jun to arrive later. Instead, she disappears.

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