An arrogant scientist awakens in the middle of a muddy pigpen, and the last thing he remembers is eating a raw pig liver and collapsing in the subway. He quickly gathers that he has turned into a pig and is now in a strange fantasy land. As he struggles to grasp reality, a young girl named Jess comes to his aid. Jess happens to be a Yesma—a discriminated class of servants distinguished by their telepathic abilities and the silver collars around their necks. Despite his inappropriate thoughts about her, Jess makes sacrifices for his sake, and the pig resolves to repay her the best he can within the limits of his new body.

But Jess' generosity does not absolve her from the prejudice the Yesmas face daily, and the pig begins to suspect that Jess is in greater danger than she thinks. While he wants to visit the royal capital and beg the king to change him back into a human, the pig realizes that he cannot simply turn his back on his kind savior.