In the late Meiji era in Hokkaido, the story follows Saichi Sugimoto, a rugged and resourceful veteran of the Russo-Japanese War known as "Immortal Sugimoto," who is desperately panning for gold to fulfill a promise to his deceased comrade's widow. His fortunes change when he hears a rumor about a massive cache of Ainu gold, the location of which is hidden in a complex cipher tattooed onto the bodies of twenty-four escaped convicts from Abashiri Prison. After a chance encounter saves him from a bear attack, Sugimoto allies with a young Ainu girl named Asirpa, whose father was killed in the conspiracy surrounding the treasure. While Asirpa seeks to understand her father's death and follow the Ainu way of respecting the land, she agrees to help Sugimoto hunt the prisoners, hoping to find the gold without resorting to murder by simply tracing the tattoos.

The first season of the live-action television series, Golden Kamuy - The Hunt of Prisoners in Hokkaido-, picks up directly after the events of the 2024 live-action film, expanding the hunt across the vast, unforgiving wilderness of Hokkaido. The narrative quickly evolves into a desperate three-way race. The first faction is Sugimoto and Asirpa’s group, which soon includes the cunning and agile escape artist Yoshitake Shiraishi, a tattooed convict who decides cooperation is safer than being hunted. Opposing them is the deranged and charismatic First Lieutenant Tokushiro Tsurumi of the Seventh Division, a military man who will stop at nothing to acquire the gold to fund a rebellion, commanding a fanatically loyal unit that includes Hyakunosuke Ogata and Hajime Tsukishima. The final major party is led by the aging but deadly Toshizo Hijikata, the legendary "last samurai" of the Shinsengumi, who seeks the gold to restore the shogunate.

As the search intensifies, the drama introduces a host of eccentric and dangerous new prisoners and enemies. The characters clash with figures such as Tetsuzo Nihei, an obsessive bear hunter, and the genius taxidermist Yasaku Edogai, who creates grotesque disguises from human skin. A significant arc involves the introduction of Kiroranke, an Ainu man and former revolutionary, along with the skilled huntress Inkarmat, who join the search with their own hidden agendas connected to Asirpa's father. The series charts a brutal journey across Hokkaido, from the frozen coasts teeming with orcas to the bustling gambling dens of the frontier, all leading toward a climactic confrontation on a runaway mining trolley. Throughout these nine episodes, the line between ally and enemy blurs as past loyalties are tested, setting the stage for the inevitable continuation of the hunt in a planned sequel film.