The plot is deceptively simple: Eyes is tortured daily by a charismatic bully named Momose and his gang. Kojima, an eccentric idealist, sends him a letter suggesting they can transcend their suffering by refusing to fight back. The two form a fragile, intellectual bond—meeting in secret to discuss justice, pain, and the nature of cruelty.

In one key scene, Eyes looks at his reflection in a spoon. His distorted face—the very thing he is bullied for—appears fragmented. Kawakami writes (as translated) that he sees not ugliness, but "a hundred different versions of myself, none of them the real one." This image encapsulates the novel’s argument: identity is not fixed. The bullies try to impose a single "real" ugly identity on him, but his inner world remains multiple, fluid, and ultimately free.