Anne Hanamura, a 17-year-old Tokyo schoolgirl in the Taisho era, grows up under her high-ranking army official father's care following her mother's early death. This unconventional upbringing fosters her tomboyish defiance of Japanese gender norms: she practices kendo, drinks sake, favors Western clothing over kimonos, prioritizes literature over housework, rejects arranged marriages, and champions women's rights to careers and love matches. Her closest allies are the traditionally feminine Tamaki and Ranmaru, a kabuki actor with effeminate mannerisms.

Her development begins when arranged to marry Lieutenant Shinobu Ijuin, a half-German army officer. After contentious encounters—including slapping him for laughing at her bicycle accident—she refuses the engagement. Moving into his household, she deliberately sabotages wifely duties through poor cooking and public embarrassments. Shinobu’s patient kindness unexpectedly awakens genuine affection in her, marking her first shift from rebellion toward maturity.

Deployed to Manchuria, Shinobu leaves Anne with his family. She cuts her waist-length hair short, pledging to support them financially. Failing as a geisha, she becomes a newspaper reporter and travels to Manchuria to cover the war. Mistakenly believing Shinobu dead, she attempts suicide but survives. Later in Japan, she finds Shinobu amnesiac and convinced he is married to Russian countess Larissa. Though accepting a proposal from her employer Tosei, Anne’s lingering love surfaces during the 1923 Kanto earthquake. Amid the chaos, Larissa dies saving Shinobu, restoring his memories and reuniting them. Choosing to perish beside the injured Shinobu rather than escape alone, Anne is rescued by Tosei, enabling their eventual marriage.

Evolving from defiant adolescent to resilient adult, Anne retains her core courage and nonconformity while embracing responsibility and profound emotional bonds. Her journey concludes with marriage to Shinobu and the birth of their child.