Toru Okada's cat has disappeared. His wife seems to be distancing herself from him more and more every day. Moreover, he's confronted with increasingly graphic phone calls. As this captivating story unfolds, the orderly suburban realities of Okada's vague and immaculate life—spent cooking, reading, listening to jazz and opera, and drinking beer at the kitchen table—are completely upended. He embarks on a bizarre journey, guided (albeit darkly) by a series of characters, each with their own story to tell.