Riku and Michi drive south of Numazu one fall afternoon. They are searching for a hidden onsen, Inugami.   Michi and Riku met the previous night at an upscale hostess bar. Riku is there on business and his boss allows him to use the company tab. Michi works as a hostess at the bar. Riku got drinks for Michi and himself. They talked for a while in a private room. Michi tells Riku that she is writing a book about autumn. Riku jokes with her and asks about her family and whether she had been to university. She explains that she does the research for her book at work by talking to her clients. She says most of them describe autumn similarly, but she had one interesting encounter with a man who told her a love story. She called the love story, “The Story of a Ghost,” as the relationship only lasted the duration of the fall season.   Riku proposes a trip/date to Michi. He says his boss has awarded him with the use of a private, secluded onsen in the forest in Izu. Michi agrees to go on the overnight trip to the onsen, Inugami.   After hours on the road, the pair approach an old farmhouse constructed in the Minka style. There is a garden next to the house full of dying sunflowers. A pathway to the right of the house leads into the pines. The sun is setting and Riku expresses that they ought to hurry up.   Two figures appear on the porch of the farmhouse. One is Grandmother Chinatsu and the other appears to Michi to be a pony. Grandmother Chinatsu tells Riku that everything had been arranged by his employer. She then encourages Michi to approach her pet, Ono. The pet is actually a dog. They go inside and receive a tour of the building. They change into robes and sandals and head outside towards the spring. It is starting to get darker now. They take off their clothes and enter the hot spring. Michi notices a large tattoo on Riku and asks about his employer. He says he is a good man and then he says that she must now pay attention but never finishes the sentence.   Michi asks for his story of autumn. He explains the autumn when he was seventeen. That year he worked on a fishing boat looking for horse mackerel. A rogue wave appeared and two men aboard the ship were swept away.   They kissed. He whispers that after that autumn he quit fishing. They ate dinner together and Grandma Chinatsu served raw mackerel. They went to bed. Michi woke up in the night to use the bathroom. She rushes back and wakes up Riku. She is visibly disturbed. They pack their things and meet in the hallway. Riku asks if they should let Grandmother Chinatsu know that they are leaving. Michi replies that they should not tell her. They get in the car. As Riku is closing the roof of the convertible, Michi sees the Grandmother Chinatsu and Ono on the porch. Grandmother Chinatsu is laughing and waving. Michi yells for him to drive. As they leave Riku demands to know what had happened. Michi will not tell him until they are on the main road.   When Michi had gone to use the bathroom. She had heard a horrible sound and became worried for Grandmother Chinatsu. She went to check on her and found Grandmother Chinatsu engaging in sexual acts with Ono. Ono looked at Michi and smiled. She explained that she thinks the house is haunted as dogs don’t smile.   Michi closes her eyes as Riku drives. Riku swerves as something jumps in front of the car. Michi looks through the rearview mirror and exclaims that something is following them. Riku begins to drive and looks to see if he can also see it.   Riku expresses that it is a dog—and it is the fastest dog that he has ever seen. The dog has a human face. Riku asks Michi to hand him the gun from the glove compartment. He says that she was right about the place being haunted as he opens the window and attempts to shoot the dog.   Riku kills the dog and it explodes in a shower of salt. Michi asks why his boss would’ve sent him to this place.   Riku tells Michi that his boss is a powerful businessman but also an Onmyoji. Riku explains that it was his boss who told her the love story, which included an affair. Riku says he was paid to spend time with her and to find out if she would blackmail him. If she was intending to, Riku was supposed to kill her and make it look like an accident.   Riku tells her that he could never hurt her. Dogs approach them again. They also have human faces. Riku kills them and they turn to salt. They get an extra clip for the gun and run to hide in the woods as they hear more monsters approaching. Riku says they are Jinmenken. They find a dilapidated building and go inside to hide. The Jinmenken appear again. They say they only need to kill one of them. Riku aims the gun at Michi and says that he is giving her to them. Riku says sorry and that he really did love Michi. Michi says she will give herself to them willingly. She goes to the door, opens it, and directs the animals towards Riku. They devour him.   Back at the hostess bar, Michi meets with the businessman, who was also Riku’s employer. He hands her an envelope full of dollar bills and expresses that autumn always reminds him of their time together. Michi says as she counts the money, that all she remembers of that time is the snow.