Natsuo Kirino created a psychological thriller, unusual primarily because its heroes are teenagers. Four friends are trying to cope with terrible problems - they find themselves unwitting accomplices in a brutal crime committed by their peer - a young man nicknamed Worm. At the same time, it does not occur to any of them to ask for help from their parents, because there has been no spiritual connection or closeness with them for a long time - adults are not their allies, but their enemies. In essence, this is a novel about how difficult it is to be young, and about the tragedy of children in whose lives there are no adults who can understand them and protect them from the horrors of the real world.