In 1971, the year after the Osaka Exposition, a girl called Nireno Suzume is born to the owners of a small-town eatery in Gifu Prefecture. At first, she is a healthy child who runs around the hills and fields every day, but in elementary school, she becomes deaf in one ear due to illness. Despite this, her loving parents and childhood friend Ritsu, born on the same day at the same hospital,give her encouragement. After graduating from high school, Suzume sets her sights on writing manga for girls with her unique creative powers and leaves for Tokyo. Put through training by her teacher Akikaze Haori, she tries hard to improve herself by learning from fellow assistants and devoting herself to studying. Suzume gets married and has a daughter, but the family finances are dire. She ends up divorcing her husband who is a dreamer. The bubble economy suddenly bursts and an economic recession begins. After repeated failure, Suzume returns to her hometown as a single mother. What awaits her will become an unexpected turning point in her life...