In 1868, Japan is a nation tearing itself apart. The age of the samurai is ending. The Emperor's modern, rifle-wielding army marches to erase 700 years of warrior tradition, and their final target is the fiercely loyal Aizu clan, the last bastion of the old world.

Based on the extraordinary true story of the Boshin War, this novel brings to life one of history's most remarkable and little-known figures: Nakano Takeko. A woman trained from birth in the martial arts, her skill with the naginata is legendary, but she is barred from the official battle lines by her gender.

As the Imperial army lays siege to Aizu castle in a brutal, final confrontation, Takeko defies convention and the commands of her own clan. She gathers a small, unofficial army of women—the Jōshitai—and takes up arms in a last, desperate stand for the world she loves.

The Last Verse of the Sword is an epic and intimate account of the real-life Battle of Aizu, a story of honour, sacrifice, and a woman's fight to define her own legacy at the end of an era. When history has already decided your fate, how do you choose to die?