When career-minded Kentaro Hiyama finds out that he’s pregnant, it will change the course of more than just his own life. In the Japan of Eri Sakai’s thought experiment, ten years have passed since the male sex has spontaneously gained the ability to get pregnant, and society has struggled to adjust. Kentaro isn’t sure at first who the mother might be, and quickly finds himself butting up against regressive attitudes and discriminatory policies-most of which long precede male pregnancy. In his previous life, he’d never given any of it a second thought-he may have even held the same views. But through his encounters with other pregnant people, and galvanized by his new perspective, Kentaro turns his skills in business and marketing to effecting social change.
Three years have passed since Kentaro gave birth to his son Kotaro, and he finds himself struggling to balance his career with raising a child on his own. Papa & Kids, the cafe that he started for pregnant men and fathers, is in peril of being shuttered as business declined in the wake of waning interest in the struggles of pregnant men. Meanwhile, a male pop idol who’s gotten pregnant—and who must keep the identity of the mother secret from the prying fans and press—seeks out his help, and Kentaro’s complicated relationship with Kotaro’s mother Aki hits a few new bumps.