Over the course of several months, eight people vanish from their homes in the same Japanese town, and a single playing card is left on each of their doors. Known as the 'Narito Disappearances', the crime has the authorities baffled - until a confession is delivered to the police, signed by Oda Sotatsu, a thread salesman. Our narrator, a journalist named Jesse Ball, becomes fascinated with this case. Why did Sotatsu confess? Why won't he speak? As Ball interviews Sotatsu's family, friends and jailers, he uncovers a complex story of heartbreak, deceit, honour and chance.