In a remote mountain village high in the lands of the Three Countries lives Takeo, a boy with the exceptional skills of the deadly Tribe - preternatural hearing, the ability to be in two places at once and invisibility. But brought up among the peaceful Hidden, Takeo has yet to discover the dangerous potential of his own abilities. When his life is saved by the mysterious Lord Otori Shigeru, Takeo begins the journey that will lead him to his destiny.

As Takeo grows from boy to man he must find a path through the complex loyalties that bind him to warring clans, the ruthless Tribe and the shadowy Hidden. At the same time, Kaede, a young heiress, must also find her way, using her intelligence and exquisite beauty to assert herself in a world of all-powerful men.

For both it is a journey of revenge and treachery, honour and loyalty, beauty and magic and the overwhelming passion of love.