Set in 1920s Japan, The Strange Tale of Panorama Island, follows the twisted path of failed novelist Hitomi, who bears an uncanny resemblance to the son and heir apparent of a rich industrialist family.

Hitomi learns of the rich man's sudden passing and creates a desperate plan. He fakes his own death, digs up and hides the other man's body, and then washes himself up starving on a beach near the home of the dead man's family. After successfully impersonating the now-dead son, Hitomi takes over all aspects of the man's life, including his company, his fortune, and eventually his wife. The failed author soon redirects the family's wealth to his own perverse aims.