He becomes infected with the disease himself and is led on a wild odyssey around the world as he is kidnapped and maltreated by the ignorant and the curious, meeting strange allies and stranger foes.

The intractable disease known as Monmow, whose cases are found only in the village of Inugamisawa ('Doggoddale' in the English translation) in the mountains of Tokushima prefecture, makes the bones of the whole body shrink and enlarge at the ends at the same time, changing the sufferer into a form like that of a dog, and ultimately causes death.

Kirihito Osanai, an intern at M University Hospital, who with his passionate nature is generally liked, is a member of the Young Doctors' Association and is unknowingly disliked by Tatsugaura for that reason.

Osanai, assisted by Tazu who loves him for who he is, finds out that the cause of the Monmow is related to an old stratum that has dissolved into the river water, succeeds in overcoming the symptoms of the disease.

Later Tazu is murdered by a rapist, and despite still obtaining a dog's face and body hair, Osanai embarks upon a quest of self-discovery, promising he would avenge her eventually.