Ginshiro Kuraoka, a Toei actor, grows jealous as his co-star Tachibana receives more close-ups during a samurai film shoot.
A fan named Tomoko asks him to sign her inner thigh, and Ginshiro sends his ailing lackey after her to obtain her phone number.
Ginshiro drowns his sorrows in alcohol, then Yasu brings him home, where Konatsu is waiting for him. Konatsu is pregnant with Ginshiro's child and refuses to have an abortion for fear she might not get another chance to bear a child. Ginshiro convinces Yasu to marry her, and Yasu stamps the marriage certificate, though Konatsu is repulsed by how easily he lets Ginshiro push him around. Yasu reveals a poster on his wall of Konatsu’s first film and says he has been a fan for ten years. She tries to leave, but collapses from toxemia, and Yasu tells the doctors that he is the father of the unborn child.
Yasu takes on multiple stunt roles to cover mounting expenses and sustains numerous injuries. When Tomoko seems ready to walk away, Ginshiro asks Konatsu to tell her how wonderful he is, and she obliges. Konatsu and Yasu find a fragile happiness, but Tomoko no longer treats Ginshiro with the care Konatsu once did, so he buys a 30-million-yen, four-carat ring and proposes. She rejects him, and he drives off from the set. Konatsu and Yasu eventually marry.
When Ginshiro misses his filming dates, Yasu locates him hiding in a warehouse. Ginshiro confesses that Tachibana has taken his place as the January model for a new line, the summer shoot has been cancelled, and that he and Tomoko have broken up. Tachibana begins to dominate the screen, while Ginshiro’s own character is killed off and his final fight on a 30-foot staircase is slated to be removed because no stunt performer is willing to take the fall.
Yasu volunteers to perform the dangerous stunt. He receives one million yen in hazard pay after signing a release to shield the studio from liability, then buys a 30-million-yen life insurance policy on himself. Konatsu begs him not to go through with it, but he insists. After he leaves to perform the stunt, Konatsu packs her belongings and leaves. Studio executives and theater owners watch the moment unfold as Yasu steps onto the staircase, nails his fate, and hopes to be celebrated for his courage. He demands that his cigarette be lit by an expensive lighter; Ginshiro produces a fancier lighter to light it, then slaps Yasu. Yasu thanks him and says he will refine his performance, delaying the stunt until after dinner. He executes the stunt and is gravely injured, but musters the strength to crawl back up the stairs as Ginshiro cheers. Konatsu arrives just as an ambulance carries Yasu away.
Konatsu gives birth and, in a quiet moment, looks up to see Yasu holding the baby. They decide to stay together as a family, and just as the director yells "Cut!" the walls are pulled back to reveal the entire cast and crew of the film. > "Cut!"
