At the beginning of the book, the main character is a young girl who is sold to an okiya (geisha house) by her impoverished family. Later in the book, upon having been trained to become a geisha herself, it is proposed that her virginity be sold to one of her clients. She repeatedly encounters the man who would like to buy this and is distressed by these experiences. In one scene, a man invites her into a building on her own and forcibly undresses her. Following this incident, she is chastised by her elders for her 'inappropriate' behaviour.