A wounded man wakes with no memory and a mask he cannot remove; the village healer Tuskuru and her granddaughter Eruruu take him in, and among their animal-eared people he takes the name Hakuoro. He recovers there until the cruel lord ruling the land pushes the villagers past breaking, and Hakuoro is drawn into leading them in revolt, turning a quiet convalescence into the founding of a new nation.