"NP" is both the name of the novel and of a short story collection within the novel's plot, a collection written in English by the character Sarao Takase, who committed suicide before he could translate it into Japanese. Three more people attempting to translate the collection have also committed suicide. The novel is narrated by Kazami Kano, the girlfriend of the last translator to die. Kazami becomes interested in Sarao's children while she is also trying to translate NP into Japanese.[1][2][3]