Haunted by her daughters suicide, Etsuko, a Japanese widow living in England, retreats to the past... Her reminiscences take her back to a hot, insect-ridden summer in Nagasaki, where she and her friends struggled to rebuild their lives after the war. But when her recollections turn to her strange friendship with Sachiko - a wealthy woman reduced to vagrancy - and her litt Haunted by her daughters suicide, Etsuko, a Japanese widow living in England, retreats to the past... Her reminiscences take her back to a hot, insect-ridden summer in Nagasaki, where she and her friends struggled to rebuild their lives after the war. But when her recollections turn to her strange friendship with Sachiko - a wealthy woman reduced to vagrancy - and her little girl, Mariko, the memories take on a disturbing cast. Past and present become fused in a narrative of disturbing poignancy.