Ryuuko is a young girl residing on Okinawa during the 1945 American landing. As Japanese forces engage in guerrilla tactics against the invaders, she is forced to abandon her grandparents and flee with her mother and younger sister. This escape proves deadly, claiming the lives of both her mother and sister. Utterly alone, Ryuuko must navigate the war-torn island landscape, confronting the pervasive dangers of the ongoing battle.

Her path leads her to seek shelter in caves held by Japanese soldiers. This hoped-for refuge, however, becomes a place of deeper trauma when she witnesses the troops detonating hand grenades to commit suicide, revealing the extreme desperation gripping military and civilians alike.

Ryuuko's pivotal act, central to the narrative, involves waving a white flag. This gesture of surrender, documented in actual wartime footage, directly inspires her story. Waving the white flag marks a crucial survival point amidst the overwhelming destruction and loss she endures throughout her harrowing experience on Okinawa.