When a bar owner named Schiller tells loan sharks Holt and Rocco he cannot pay back the money he owes them, the two thugs beat and torture him. As he is being assaulted, Schiller offers Holt and Rocco his wife, Anna, in place of money. Taking Schiller up on his offer, Holt and Rocco rape, torture and humiliate Anna in front of Schiller, and leave with her. Despite her injuries, Anna escapes Holt and Rocco's clutches, and swears bloody and brutal revenge on them and Schiller, who has moved on with a new girlfriend.
The story follows the lives of the Kazama family in Tokyo in the 30th year of the Shōwa period: 1955. The father, Ichirō, is a salaryman. His wife, Eiko, is a housewife. The daughter, Akiko, works as a clerk in a factory, and Shigeru, the son, is a college student.
Sexual politics in the office as well as in the family complicate the life of Tsuyoshi Taneta. The president of a mid-size publishing firm, Taneta is unable to keep his eyes off his secretary, Natsume. His engaged son also has his eye on Natsume. Kikuhara, a salesman who is too free with his hands, is accused of sexual harassment of Natsume, and dismissed by Taneta.
Misae lives with her boyfriend Shunsuke, and works in the advertising industry. She becomes acquainted with Kazuko, a neighbor who is living with relatives after her parents have divorced. Rika, an old schoolmate of Kazuko's, comes into the group of friends and romantic complications ensue.
Aki works part-time at an Italian restaurant owned by Kawano. She is tired of her relationship with her unfaithful boyfriend, Masaru, and has a crush on Kawano. Kawano's lover, Kyoko, had created a dessert which made the restaurant popular, however the recipe was lost with Kyoko's death in a surfing accident. Aki tries to impress Kawano by recreating the dessert, but she is not as talented a chef as was Kyoko.
Misaki's husband Ken'ichi dies in a car accident soon after their marriage. As the first anniversary of his death nears, Misaki is still in mourning for Ken'ichi. Ken'ichi had managed the Sunrise Villa apartments, which his parents have managed after his death. A psychic claims to have received word from Ken'ichi's spirit that he wants the apartments to be kept running responsibly. Misaki, believing the psychic, takes charge of the apartments, working as the landlady, performing repairs, and responding to the demands of the tenants.
To relieve her boring life, on her graduation day from high school, Hiroko participates in a robbery with the local gang. While on the run, Hiroko is involved in a love triangle between two members of the gang.
Yūko is an office lady newly arrived in Tokyo, who jogs every morning. Unfamiliar with big-city problems, she is shocked to witness a groping on the train, and even more so when she becomes the victim of a groper.