In a complex social heirarchy, amid dissembling clans and fractured allegiances, there is no place for passionate love. The orphan Takao, who has been taught the ways os the warrior class by Lord Otori Shigeru, has now been claimed by the Tribe; held by them against his will, he is condemned to work as an assassin - an enforced occupation that his father sacrificed his own life to escape. Meanwhile, Takao's beloved Shirakawa Kaede, heir to the Maruyama and alone in the world, must find a way to unify the domain she has inherited, as she fights off the advances of would-be suitors and hopes against fading hope that Takeo will return to her. Both Takao and Kaede must draw upon their unusual talents and hidden strengths, and make their way in this tale of longing, ambition, and intrigue.