Set in Japan during the Second World War, Saburo (Eiji Okada) and Keiko (Yoshiko Kuga) meet for the first time on an underground platform while air raid sirens go off on the street above them. Amidst the jostling throngs of people their fingers touch, marking their first beautiful encounter. Saburo, who holds family trauma from the war, finds himself cornered until he falls for Keiko, a poor but cheerful young artist. As the war reaches a grim milestone and the country desperately shoves more and more of its young people to the front, Saburo soon receives a call-up notice which threatens the prospects of the two lovers.