After a string of suspicious deaths strikes the political sphere, police officer Norito is dispatched to investigate the possible involvement of a religious cult. He drags his brother Shinji, a reticent folklorist, along to Hirasaka, a remote village hidden deep in the snowy mountains. Norito and Shinji are taken to the residence of the village chief, a strikingly beautiful Shinto priest named Yoshiomi. The snow shrouds his estate in disquiet, and the brothers realize that their lives might be in danger unless they uncover what, or whom, the people of Hirasaka are hiding. The narrative unfolds in this isolated, wintry village where traditional beliefs and potential cult activity create an atmosphere of pervasive threat. The central dynamic involves the pragmatic police officer Norito, his scholarly brother Shinji, and the enigmatic priest Yoshiomi, whose role as village chief makes him both a key informant and a potential suspect. The primary arc follows the investigation into the political deaths and the cult, forcing the brothers to navigate a community that appears to be harboring a dangerous secret.