The story was one of the best-selling novels of 2007, it revolves around the "red thread of fate" connecting the young pair Mei and Atsushi and the trials they face. The story focuses on the emotional and spiritual growth of the teenage heroine, while depicting everything from her adolescent love troubles to her father's battle with cancer and her close friend's struggle with drugs. Akai Ito refers to the East Asian belief of the red string of fate. Originating from Chinese legend, "the red string of fate" myth states that the gods tie an invisible string around the ankles of men and women who are destined to be soul mates and will one day marry each other.