The World of Kanako  Akikazu Fujishima (Kōji Yakusho) is a former detective who lost his job, marriage and daughter after having a violent reaction to his wife's infidelity. Since then, he has become a dysfunctional, unstable alcoholic. Many years later, his ex-wife (Asuka Kurosawa) contacts him to tell him that his daughter Kanako (Nana Komatsu) has gone missing. Akikazu begins investigating the disappearance, with police detective Asai (Satoshi Tsumabuki) ostensibly helping but in truth rarely involving himself in the search. Akikazu's methods involve harassing and intimidating those he speaks to, including Kanako's former classmates and teacher (Miki Nakatani), but none of them are forthcoming. Nonetheless, he discovers that she had become involved with drug users, and suspects that they made her into an addict. Flashbacks to three years prior reveal how an unnamed student (Hiroya Shimizu) in Kanako's middle school had fallen in love with her, as she was the only kid who didn't bully or ostracize him. The student knowing Kanako had been in love with a former student named Ogata, wanted her to feel the same way for him. This desire eventually leads him to attend a party with her, where he is drugged and raped. The student then tracks down Kanako and contemplates killing her, but is unable to. She embraces him, before an unidentified figure stabs the student in the neck, killing him. In the present, Akikazu is eventually captured by the Yakuza, who torture and kill Kanako's gang member friend Matsunaga (Mahiro Takasugi) in front of him. Matsunaga informs Akikazu as to how Ogata was a "weak boy with a cute face" so they kidnapped him and allowed old men to rape him, which caused him to commit suicide. Kanako having been in love with Ogata befriended the group in order to exact revenge. Due to Ogata's death or perhaps exacerbated by it Kanako is completely emotionless which easily allows her to become involved with the child prostitution ring, and manipulate other kids (along with the unnamed student) to use drugs and drink, thus allowing older men to rape them. Even knowing about Kanakos intentions and lack of feelings for anyone or anything, Matsunaga had fallen in love with Kanako and helped her to steal the photos. The Yakuza inform Akikazu that the police are also involved in the prostitution ring and that Detective Aikawa (Joe Odagiri) had killed several of Kanako's criminal friends in an attempt at a cover-up.