Deranged doll-maker Mr. Franz is deathly afraid of being left alone, so he creates a machine that can shrink humans down to only a few inches tall. He soon accumulates a troupe of shrunken prisoners whom he forces to perform for him and keep him company. When he shrinks his secretary Sally and her fiance Bob, the pair decide against spending their days as pint-sized playthings and try to find a way to escape and re-enlarge themselves.

In 1888, Jack the Ripper is on his killing spree. Scotland Yard Inspector O'Neill is pleased to welcome to London his old friend Sam Lowry, a New York City detective who has come to visit him and is only too happy to help out with the case. Sam becomes attracted to Anne Ford, a modern woman for the age, but her guardian, Dr. Tranter doesn't quite approve. The good doctor also seems to be out when the Ripper murders occur. As the population edge ever loser to taking the law into their own hands, the police slowly close in the killer.

A mad scientist captures women and feeds them to a flesh-eating tree, which in turn gives him a serum that helps bring the dead back to life.

Hasegawa is writing a sequel to his previous novel, based on a true character who murdered 9 people on the street, with the premise that the killer had a brother. The main character in his new novel, Harumi, drops out of high school and leads a quiet life, unable to understand his brother. He is scared that the same blood runs in his veins but is also enraged by the fact that his brother’s life is consumed as material for novels by many writers.

Have you been secretly longing to achieve more in life? To many, you seem content and successful, but inwardly you know you have not yet stepped into your full potential. And the realization hurts. Maybe you never asked for that well-deserved raise. Or you avoided presenting to a room full of influencers. You stayed “behind-the-scenes”. Totally competent, but utterly invisible. But there is this whisper in your ear, begging you to speak up. You long to jump out of your comfort zone. And your message? You know you have one – yet something holds you back from going big, from shining as brightly as you could. What. Is. It.?!?!? The answer is - it’s different for everyone. And the good news is, it’s not that hard to find that box, open it up, and let the butterflies out.