A merciless warlord, Oda Nobunaga, murders Kiku’s husband, plunging her into a life of sexual servitude in a silk-lined cell. In the harem, she fights the machinations of a love-struck eunuch intent upon transforming her into the whore Nobunaga desires. She struggles to keep her warrior skills fine-tuned because a shadow-like assassin is murdering off concubines one by one. A pampered courtesan steals her memories of an idyllic marriage when she confesses that Kiku’s husband is her favorite client. In a city full of adversaries, her only ally is a woman most think is insane.

No one shows her any concern except a lowly monk. Ryogen awakens feelings in her she thought died long ago. But will Kiku ever trust her instincts again when an assassin reveals that Ryogen is really Shiro, the son of the man who made her a widow