When the Pope unexpectedly dies, Cardinal Lawrence is responsible for managing the ancient and secretive ritual of selecting a new Pope, a process that relies on 118 Cardinals gathered in the Vatican. During the process, Lawrence uncovers a conspiracy that could cause the Catholic Church to collapse.

The MACA prison in Abidjan is governed by one of its inmates, Blackbeard. In an attempt to keep competing factions at bay, he appoints a storyteller who, like Scheherazade, is charged with telling a story that will last the whole night through -- on pain of death.

Pachinko follows one Korean family through four generations, beginning with Sunja, whose unplanned pregnancy shames the whole family. Through desperate struggles and hard-won triumphs, the family members are bound together by deep roots as they face enduring questions of faith, love, and identity.