The story of a man, a girl, her ears and a very special sheep. It is a world where people sweat about their careers, drink too much, and drift through broken marriages. The protagonist is an advertising executive who finds himself drawn into an elaborate quest for a mysterious sheep. His life was like his recurring nightmare: a train to nowhere. But an ordinary life has a way of taking an extraordinary turn. Add a girl whose ears are so exquisite that, when uncovered, they improve sex a thousand-fold, a runaway friend, a right-wing politico, an ovine-obsessed professor and a manic-depressive in a sheep outfit, implicate them in a hunt for a sheep, that may or may not be running the world, and eth upshot is another singular masterpiece from Japans finest novelist.