Handsome young Katsuta tries to follow the yakuza code, but even his boss doesn't believe in it. Diamond Fuyu is less ethical, and allows the idiotic Tetsu to trick a schoolgirl he fancies, Hanako, into a type of bonded prostitution. Because of gang conflict, the Izu family (to whom Katsuta belongs) has their last gambling den taken over, and he seeks revenge. This brings him back into contact with a former lover who is also a card trickster - she is also Diamond Fuyu's sister, and is now married to Okaru-Hachi, who has mastered a clever card cheating trick called Okaru, which involves the deft use of mirrors.

根据卡夫卡的同名短篇小说改编，描述了一个“痴迷”饥饿艺术的表演者，从其风靡全城的荣光到被人厌弃的落漠，始终不被真正理解而孤寂痛苦直至无声死去的过程。足立正生是日本著名的左翼导演，在学生时代自主拍摄了《锁阴》一片而引人注目。大学退学后，他加入了著名导演若松孝二的独立公司，编写了以性与革命为主题的大量剧本，1966年首次执导商业性影片《堕胎》。足立正生一直以来其实验性的风格和大胆的作风都时常被大众讨论，此次的题材也一如既往的充满想法。