Yuusuke Urameshi is a 14-year-old delinquent who spends his days absent from school and causing chaos for the adults in his life. He often engages in street brawls with his rival, Kazuma Kuwabara, and belittles his childhood friend, Keiko Yukimura. Crippled by self-hatred and weighed down by his alcoholic mother, Yuusuke makes a quick decision to tackle a small child out of the path of an oncoming car, losing his life in the process. With the help of Botan, his spirit guide, Yuusuke is able to see the profound sadness and devastation his death brings to the people in his life. He is touched by the immense hurt he caused his mother, Keiko, and even his nemesis, Kazuma. As a result of his heroic death, he receives a proposition to return to the land of the living from Koenma, the son of the Spirit World ruler. Koenma hires Yuusuke to work as a "Spirit Detective," entrusting him with a number of paranormal mysteries of increasing complexity. In the process of battling and befriending demons such as Kurama and Hiei, Yuusuke's fighting skills are honed to perfection. However, as malevolent forces gather in the Underworld, Yuusuke must team up with his comrades to protect all that he took for granted.