A carpenter, Shigetsugu, learns a lesson of love and humanity from five orphaned children and an affectionate woman named Oritsu. It's a winning combination of drama and humor. The warm friendship that grows between the carpenter, the woman and the children making this into a true masterpiece.

In order to pay back Mrs. Kajiki for her good deed in the past, Hatsu moves from her village in Akita to Tokyo to start working as a maid for her family. She grows close to their youngest son Katsumi, experiencing things that will change her view on life.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, a five-man reconnaissance unit is dispatched to scout enemy positions in a volatile territory. After a sudden and intense firefight, the group is separated, leaving the survivors to wait in agonizing suspense at their outpost.

The young Takako Kuramoto has come to Tokyo to study and starts working for the rich Tashiro family as tutor of the daughter, Kumiko, while she receives attention from her two older brothers, Yukichi and Shinji. Meanwhile, the exact parentage of Shinji comes to light.

『五番町夕霧楼』（ごばんちょうゆうぎりろう）は、水上勉の代表作であり1950年におきた金閣寺放火事件と著者の実体験を基に1958年の売春防止法施行まで存在していた五番町遊廓を舞台に家族を養うために丹後からきた少女とその幼馴染である学生僧の悲恋を描いた小説である。 1950年ごろ、丹後にある寒村に五番町で『夕霧楼』という妓楼を経営する女性とお抱えの娼妓が墓参りを終え、京都へ帰る前に一人のきこりが自分の娘を預けてほしいと頼むことからこの物語が始まる。少女の名は夕子、彼女は女将である女性に引かれ五番町遊廓に身を沈む。