51-year-old Sakurako Sato is a single, poor woman who works for a home care service. When she was young, her father failed in business and evaporated, leaving her with a large debt. She has raised her younger sister, Umeko and has reached this age without a single happy memory of love or fun. In addition, Sakurako has a very poor appearance, and children in the neighborhood make fun of her, calling her "Frankenwoman," which makes her despicable to others. While taking care of Tamura, a wealthy old man she is visiting, Sakurako meets a handsome boy named Ryuji. Sakurako falls in love with him at first sight. When it is eventually discovered that Ryuji is in debt and is being threatened by yakuza gangsters, Sakurako struggles to raise money to help him by working at night at a cabaret club for mature women.
Shigeko, a bluff medium who has no inspiration at all, exorcises women who are in trouble because they are being sexually assaulted by spirits night after night, but the spirits follow Shigeko.
Haruo Sugimura is fresh from serving a two-year stint in prison for assaulting someone when he is recruited by a loan shark named Sakai to help collect money for a company called Minami Hachi Ban Kogyo, baesd in Osaka. Their rates are ruthless: 10% interest is added every 10 days. Their customers are desperate: a hostess who owes money to other loan sharks, a man made suicidal because his family don’t love him anymore. Haruo learns about the art of the loan shark as well as the dark side of peoples personalities.