Sakura's years of searching don't matter once Hinagiku returns, what matters is that she has to learn to let go anyway, because Hinagiku isn't the same person she left behind. The show uses a stolen season as the skeleton, but the real story is two people learning that loving someone doesn't mean getting them back unchanged. By the end, you're not rooting for spring to return.

Sakura Himedaka has spent years searching for Hinagiku Kayo, the Agent of Spring, whose disappearance left the world locked in endless winter. For centuries the Agents of the Four Seasons have used god-like powers to bring each season, which makes them targets for greedy groups such as the Rebels. During a Rebel attack, Hinagiku allowed herself to be taken so the other Agents could be saved, and even her own village gave Sakura little help in the search. Ten years later Hinagiku is found, but the ordeal has changed her personality drastically. Encouraged by Sakura, she finds the courage to bring back the lost spring, while the two of them face a haunting past and enemies willing to destroy everything for their own ends. Drama, fantasy and romance come together in their story.