The five main characters of the novel are all motivated by their search for meaning and direction in life. Each of their respective chapters begins with one of them in a state of crisis or flux. At the start of their storylines, Tomoka Fujiki, Ryo Urase, Natsumi Sakitani, Hiroya Suda, and Masao Gonno all find themselves in circumstances that do not satisfy them and long for something different. The longer they feel unhappy or lost, the more desperate they are for answers and for guidance. Each of their chapters thus traces their attempt to locate newness or to regain stability. For Tomoka, working job at Eden is dissatisfying and numbing, because it is “the only job offer [she] received” after college, and the work doesn’t feel purposeful (12). For Ryo, working his office job feels incapacitating, because there’s “never any escape from the petty frictions and irritations of dealing with other people” (94). However, he can’t quit the job and follow his dream of opening an antique store, because he doesn’t have the financial stability to do so. For Natsumi, life feels entrapping, because her job is unfulfilling and her domestic duties are time consuming.