In these three stories the principal female characters, all young, seem as interested in their own sex as they are in men. They are impulsive and impressionable.
In "Asleep," Terako suffers from somnolence; she just can't keep awake. In "Love Songs"; Fuki is a heavy drinker. Both women have male lovers and both are in thrall to women.
As a student, Terako shared an apartment with Shiori, who has become "a restrained prostitute." Her clients are rich businessmen, who want a sympathetic listener, not sex. Shiori goes abroad and kills herself. Terako is distraught. She still suffers from sleeping sickness; however, a telephone call from her lover wakes her and they spend an evening eating eel and watching fireworks.