Though it has been five years since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima, Yasuko, her uncle and aunt are forced to deal with the ordeals of the disaster, along with many others like them.

Mr and Mrs Shizuma, and their niece Yasuko, make their way through the ruins of Hiroshima, just after the atomic bomb has dropped. Five years later, Yasuko is living with her aunt and uncle, and her senile grandmother, in a village containing many of the bomb survivors. Yasuko does not appear to be affected by the bomb, but the Shizuma's are worried about her marriage prospects, as she could succumb to radiation sickness at any time.—Will Gilbert