Self-serving adults and broken dreams push a teenage boy trapped in a dead-end town closer and closer toward the abyss. Reiji's life is as miserable as the small town he can't escape. The most interesting thing that's ever happened there is a double suicide down by the river. Does Reiji have any power over his fate, or will he too fall into the abyss? Reiji, Gen, and Chako have escaped to Tokyo, the city of their dreams. Now what? To understand their present and dream of a better future, they need to better understand their town's past. Finally, the truth about teenaged Esemori and Yuko's relationship unspools in a tale of violence, redemption, lost love, regret.and fire.