An unsuspecting American, unaware of the ongoing torment of the victims of the Bomb, becomes a tenant in a Japanese home. The young hostess tries by every means to hide her terrible burns from him and to conceal that all other members of the family carry death within them. Our American gradually discovers the drama unfolding around him and realizes the share of responsibility that falls on him. The young Yuka-san, with her narrative that alternates between moments of terror and moments of love and humanity, does not blame anyone. However, the book ultimately serves as the most merciless indictment of the barbarity of the atomic War.