A spy of the German anti-espionage agency (Abwehr) went to San Francisco under the cover of a Swedish businessman. He held talks with Mr. Tagomi, the head of the Japan Business Council in this area, but he had to postpone tracking his real mission and avoid being captured until the mysterious Mr. Yatabe arrived.
The legitimacy of Mr Tagomi's core concepts and principles in modern Japanese and German society has a turning point in his own Buddhist beliefs.
Robert Childan, the owner of a shop in San Francisco, USA, sells American antiques and cultural handicrafts that have been welcomed by the Japanese. He tries to keep his face and dignity when catering to the occupying forces. Although he often flattered them and contradicted his feelings for the war and the occupiers (he hated and respected them at the same time), Childan finally found a sense of cultural pride. He also investigated widely circulated fakes and increased Japanese interest in "real" American cultural relics in the antique market.
Frank Frink and Ed McCarthy, two San Francisco workers, started the jewelry business and created some first-class and credible American artworks within a few years. Their works have had a wonderful influence on Americans and Japanese who have visited them. Flink also tried to hide his Jewish ancestry from the local police.
Flink's ex-wife, Julianne, lives in Colorado, USA. She started to make friends with Joe, a truck driver who claimed to be an Italian veteran in the First World War. He wants to meet Hawthorne Abenson, the author of The Grasshopper's Heavy Lies. His name is tall. Julianne went with him, but found that Joe was actually a German assassin. Unable to escape, juliana cut his throat with a blade. She continued to travel alone and finally met Abenson.