Saburo works at a medical office on The Izu Islands, which has seen its population dwindle over the years. Even though Saburo doesn't have a medical license, he performs operations under the instructions of Dr. Muraki. Because of his gifted dexterity and sincerity, people call him the Young Doctor. Saburo becomes conflicted over his position, but he convinces himself that what he is doing is helping people. Saburo becomes is also loved by nurse Akiko Suzuki and Akiko Tasaka, who is the daughter of the director of a general hospital in Tokyo. ~~ Based on the novel "Kumo no Kaidan" by Junichi Watanabe.
Episodes
Aikawa Subaro, recent inhabitant of the lonely and remote island of Mikotojima, works as a clerk for the sole medical clinic on the island. The Director of the clinic, having taken a liking to Subaro, has been training him to give medical treatments. But as an unlicensed practitioner, what Subaro has been reluctantly doing is illegal. Still, with only one doctor on the island, not many are putting up a fuss. Just as Subaro begins a tentative relationship with the nurse Suzuki Akiko, another Akiko arrives on the island. Tasaka Akiko arrives by ship with several of her friends but seems distant and troubled; a sign Subaro quickly picks up on. But now that an emergency has come up and the sole doctor is gone, Subaro may have to prove his mettle sooner than expected.
Subaro deals with the fallout of Tasaka Akiko's recovery while also trying to work on his relationship with Suzuki Akiko. But doubts of his being able to continue as an unlicensed doctor pressure him to find his own way forward.
Subaro returns to the island only to discover that a replacement doctor has arrived. Now that Subaro has gone back to being just a clerk, when the other Akiko arrives looking for some follow-up work to her operation, he'll be hard pressed to help her. But the new doctor may not turn out as well as the islanders had hoped for.
Subaro has left the island and arrived at the Tokyo hospital Tasaka Akiko's parents run. His entry as a surgeon for the hospital seems to be going smoothly, but there are some worrisome hiccups for him. Meanwhile Suzuki Akiko ponders the change in her own destiny and what, if anything, she can do about it, which leads to a shocking turn of events.
While Subaro continues to deepen his relationship with Tasaka Akiko and grow accustomed to the hospital, he finds himself still lingering over memories of Suzuki Akiko who he suspects might not be dead after all and his abhorrence for his bride-to-be's friends. Still, Subaro is determined to keep his secret intact.
Saburo finds Suzuki Akiko's sudden appearance as a nurse disconcerting, especially as she goes around mentioning secrets from their time together on the island. Meanwhile, Tasaka Akiko finds her relationship with Saburo strained by the other Akiko as well.
Sabruo, having cleared most of the obstacles in his path towards becoming a true doctor, begins feeling his oats when he's even able to best an eminent Professor. But his idyll may be short-lived as someone from his past reappears with knowledge of his current self and when a dangerous operation comes along that even he isn't quite up to.
Sabruo's wife Akiko is worried enough over recent events to confront her father about her husband only to learn the shocking truth.
Feeling he has nothing left to lose, Saburo concentrates on his proposal to reform the hospital. His wife Akiko, stunned by the revelations presented to her, finds herself unable to move while the other Akiko tries her best to support Saburo.
In this, the concluding episode, change comes as Saburo is sent behind bars and where reflects on how he got to this point. The two Akikos also find themselves thinking about the changes in their futures and just where, or even if, Saburo belongs in them. Meanwhile, as his trial goes on, there may be some things that will never change.
