Hanada Surgical Hospital in Kamakura has been in the family's female lineage for over 100 years. Each generation of directors has been an adopted son-in-law, including the current director, Hanada Seiichiro. Perhaps due to his position as an adopted son, he is unable to stand up to his wife, Kiri, daughter, Hideko, and sister-in-law, Tokuko, and is bullied by Chiyo, the former head nurse, nurses, and doctors. When Seiichiro suffers a cerebral hemorrhage, Yamada Daikichi, a surgeon in Tokyo who had a close relationship with Seiichiro's late father, comes to live with the Hanadas, bringing his daughter, Etsuko, a middle school student. Daikichi lost his wife about 10 years ago and has been raising Etsuko alone. At the request of his former teacher, Seiichiro, Daikichi is appointed acting director.
