The ever versatile Kazuki Kitamura stars as masterless samurai Kyutaro Madarame, a feared swordsman who has fallen on hard times in old Edo. Caught between two warring gangs in an epic battle of cat lovers and dog lovers, he begrudgingly accepts the canine faction's offer to assassinate the opposite leader's beloved pet: an adorable white cat. Yet upon raising his lethal sword, he cannot bring himself to go through with the act, and the cat melts his ronin heart. But before finding peace as a newly minted cat person, the still fearsome Madarame will have to take on both gangs in a classic samurai street brawl.

人称“斑鬼”的斑目久太郎（北村一辉 饰），曾是加贺藩德高望重、令人闻风丧胆、礼让三分的剑术师傅，而如今他沦为没有收入的浪人，在长屋里过着穷困潦倒的生活。除了剑术什么也不会的他，这一天接到了一项有些奇怪的委托，那就是刺杀和服店老板左兵卫（伊藤洋三郎 饰）所溺爱的白猫玉之丞，因为白猫似乎是传说中的八尾猫妖。为了三两报酬，斑目接收了委托，可是却在关键时刻被玉之丞无邪剔透的目光所融化，因此想方设法将其藏了起来。
堂堂斑鬼怎么也不会想到，他一介豪杰武者的命运竟会因一只猫而改变。而所谓猫妖的到来，究竟是福是祸？