The nine souls of the title are nine escaped convicts. All male, they diverge in age, background and crime. There is Torakichi (Harada), the eldest and the group's natural leader, who killed his own son; Kazuma (Chihara), a former biker who stabbed four of his own gang; Inui (Suzuki), an epileptic mad bomber; the diminutive doctor Shiratori (Yamada), who was jailed for aiding suicide; the reclusive Michiru (Matsuda), a young man who murdered his own father; the temperamental Ushiyama (Dairaku); former chinpira Shishido (Onimaru); pimp Kiyoshi (Kee) and modest porn entrepreneur Fujio (Itao). One thing they share: they all have unfinished business to take care of and family members or a loved one to come clean to.