Only those who are determined to kill themselves will ever see Death and his suicide pact. If they die by suicide within seven days of signing the pact, their souls belong to Death, and they will never again suffer rebirth. In three stories, Mr. Death’s Suicide Pact unveils a dark and tender panorama of the human condition, posing the question: can suicide truly liberate us from suffering?

The three stories that comprise Mr. Death’s Suicide Pact are set in a fictional world where those who are determined to kill themselves receive a visit from Death, and an offer. If they sign a pact with Death, they will surely die within seven days, by one means or another. Three people accept Death’s offer, underpinning three stories in which harsh realities are edged with the warmth of love, family, and friendship.

In the first story, a young woman, Celeste, decides to end her own life after a car accident leaves her a burden to her family. Touched by her selflessness, Ivan, aka Mr. Death, begins to develop unaccustomed affections.

In second story, Death, now in the guise of a top student, appears to Huang Wei-jen, who plans to kill himself to escape the bullying of classmates. After signing the Death’s pact, however, Huang Wei-jen has a realization that changes his life, and he begins to regret signing the pact.

In the final story, suicide deprives model mother Amamiya Yuzuki of the daughter she raised with all her devotion. In the depths of her despair, a young boy appears. Claiming to be Death, he tells her he knows the real reason her daughter killed herself.

Spanning various nations, life stages, and family relations, these three stories grant a range of perspectives on one of life’s big questions: is suicide the end of suffering, or, is it merely the end of living? Both entertaining and thought provoking, each story is propelled to its conclusion by the fundamental mystery of death. An additional epilogue invites further contemplation that will linger long after the stories end.