In Tokyo, a group lives in poverty: Osamu, a day labourer forced to leave his job after breaking his ankle; his wife Nobuyo, who works for an industrial laundry service; Aki, who works at a hostess club; Shota, a young boy; and Hatsue, an elderly woman who owns the home and supports the group with her deceased husband’s pension.

Osamu and Shota routinely shoplift goods with the former assuring Shota that it’s fine to steal things from shops as it has not been sold, as they do not belong to anyone. One especially cold night, they see Yuri, a girl who has often been locked out at the apartment balcony. They bring her to their home, intending to only have her stay for dinner, but choose not to return her after finding symptoms of abuse. Yuri is taught to shoplift by Osamu and Shota.

Hatsue visits her husband’s son from his second marriage, from whom she regularly receives money. The son and his wife are Aki’s parents, who believe that their daughter is living in Australia. The family visits the beach and Hatsue expresses contentment that she will not die a lonely death. At home, she dies in her sleep. Osamu and Nobuyo bury her under the house, and continue to collect her pension without reporting her death.

Increasingly guilt-ridden about teaching Yuri to steal, Shota interrupts a stealing attempt by Yuri by stealing fruit from a grocery store in view of the staff. Cornered, he jumps from a bridge, breaks his leg, gets hospitalized and detained. Osamu and Nobuyo attract the attention of the police, who are caught after attempting to flee with Yuri and Aki. The authorities discover Yuri and the death of Hatsue. Nobuyo takes the blame for the crimes and is sentenced to prison. Shota is placed in an orphanage and Yuri is returned to her birth parents.