A fascinating mystery story about friendship from the internationally bestselling author of Norwegian Wood and 1Q84. Tsukuru Tazaki had four best friends in school. Coincidentally, all their names contained a color. The two boys were named Akamatsu, meaning 'red pine', and Oumi, 'blue sea', while the girls were named Shirane, 'white root', and Kurono, 'black field'. Tazaki was the only one without a color in his surname. One day, Tsukuru Tazaki's friends announced that they never wanted to see or speak to him again. Since that day, Tsukuru has drifted through life, unable to form intimate connections with anyone. But then he meets Sara, who tells him that it’s time to find out what happened all those years ago.