Katrina Nguyen is a transgender teenage girl from an abusive home. Bruised and beaten, she runs away in the middle of the night and boards a bus to Los Angeles. On the bus, she falls asleep holding her precious violin.

Famed violin teacher Shizuka Satomi arrives in Los Angeles, her hometown, having flown in from Tokyo. Her housekeeper, Astrid, urges her to rest. Shizuka is eager to see Ms. Grohl, who may potentially be “the seventh.”

Shizuka has taught six incredibly talented students. All became stars in the violin world only to die in tragic anguish. Shizuka has accordingly earned the nickname “the Queen of Hell.” Now, over a decade since her last student, Shizuka is still seeking someone worthy to be her seventh. At a competition, she watches a talented young violinist, Tamiko Grohl, perform. Afterward, Tamiko tells Shizuka that she wants to be just like one of Shizuka’s former students, but Shizuka tells her, “No. You don’t,” and leaves.

At home, Shizuka tells Astrid that the Grohl girl isn’t the one. At a koi pond in the backyard, Shizuka meets with the demon Tremon Philippe, who appears as a well-dressed, toad-like man. Tremon reminds her that only one year remains to fulfill her contract to deliver seven souls to Hell.