Mr Nemuro, a respected salesman, disappeared over half a year ago, but only now does his alluring yet alcoholic wife hire a private eye. The nameless detective has but two clues: a photo and a matchbook. With these, he embarks upon an ever-more-puzzling pursuit that leads him into the depths of Tokyo´s dangerous underworld, where he begins to lose the boundaries of his own identity. Surreal, fast-paced and hauntingly dreamlike, Abe´s masterly novel delves into the unknowable mysteries of the human mind.