Astrophysicist Ryoichi Shiraishi, his fiancee Hiroko, his sister Etsuko, and his friend Joji Atsumi attend a festival at a local village near Mount Fuji. Shiraishi then tells Atsumi that he has broken off his engagement with Hiroko but gives no reason other than an undisclosed obligation to remain in the village. Then, a mysterious forest fire flares up, burning more rapidly than normal and emanating from the ground, and Shiraishi rushes out to investigate and disappears during the confusion.