Kurozu-cho, a small fogbound town on the coast of Japan, is cursed. But the spirit that haunts it does not have a name or a body, only a shape: uzumaki, the spiral, the hypnotic secret shape of the world. It posessed the father of teenage Kirie's withdrawn boyfriend Shuichi, compelling him to end his life by remaking himself in its image. It grows in ferns, in seashells, in curls of hair, and in the twisting folds of the human brain. As events unfold, giant snails are sighted near the high school, an eerie glow shines from the abandoned lighthouse, mosquitoes seeking blood fly in drowsy circles, and babies seek to return to the womb. The very smoke from the crematorium hangs in an ominous spiral over the town, reminding everyone that even in death there is no escape...
