Shokuzai tells the story of a small Japanese village where tragedy struck fifteen years ago when primary school girl Emily was murdered by a strange man. Four classmates Emily was playing with find her body. The perpetrator is never found and the case remains unsolved. Torn with grief, Emily's mother Asako puts a sort of curse on the four girls, who say they can't remember the perpetrator's face. They will each in their own way atone for their silence.