Upon being arrested for the gruesome murder of her father, all college student Kanna Hijiriyama tells the police is, "It's up to you to find the motive." Amidst the media frenzy about the woman "too beautiful to be a killer," clinical psychologist Yuki Makabe is asked by Kanna's lawyer to counsel the young woman as her trial approaches. Yuki slowly uncovers the dark history behind the relationships in Kanna's life – with her father, her mother, and her "first love" – and discovers shocking inconsistencies in Kanna's defense.

Winner of the prestigious Naoki Prize and a Japanese bestseller, First Love is part psychological drama, part legal thriller.