A novel of love centered on Shuko, a forty-five-year-old translator, the fifteen-year-old Mimi, and a husband whose charm draws women around him. The wish to possess and the acceptance of absence move between intellect and sensuality.

A love that wants both presence and absence quietly bends the shape of romance.

Jiu, who runs a flower shop, and Sakae, a cram-school teacher living in an old house, meet in the latter half of life and turn time without money into a rich love. The novel depicts love with death in sight through lively conversation and tactile daily life.

Love begun in the latter half of life turns modest time into a private heaven.

A man who thought he would never have an affair crosses a forbidden line with a colleague. A murder nearing the statute of limitations shadows her, and romance and suspense press in on husband, lover, and family.

The woman he falls for is shadowed by a murder case nearing its deadline.