The narrative unfolds during an exceptionally hot summer in 1994, within the small, tranquil Japanese village of Sotoba. A sequence of enigmatic fatalities starts to permeate the community, coinciding with the arrival of an unusual family in the long-deserted Kanemasa mansion situated atop a hill. Megumi Shimizu, a young woman eager to abandon the village for city life, visits them and vanishes without a trace. Her body is subsequently discovered in the woods, and she succumbs to her injuries. Dr. Toshio Ozaki, head of Sotoba’s sole medical facility, first hypothesizes an outbreak; yet, as the inquiry progresses and the body count rises, he uncovers—and becomes certain—that the killings are perpetrated by the "shiki," vampire-like entities infesting the area. Natsuno Yuuki, a teenage resident who despises life in the village, finds herself hunted and increasingly encircled by mortality.