It is nearly thirty year later and Rising Son continues the Sakai family odyssey begun in Island Dawn. The Pearsons, a missionary preacher and his wife, who spent years among the mission fields of Hawaii after serving in rural Japan, continue what becomes a lifelong friendship forged with the newlywed Sakais while in Maui. Ultimately they facilitate their settlement in the Pacific Northwest. Woven into the narrative is the Akagi family, dedicated to providing service to generations of Japanese Emperors. Master manipulators behind the throne, the Akagi clan over the centuries has acted as counselors and envoys of the Emperor. The pivotal character from this family—Arimoto—becomes the seriously injured sole survivor of an experimental Imperial Navy submarine. Disastrously—and anonymously—sunk, it is a key component in a secret recon of the Puget Sound just prior to the start of the Pacific War.

It is the young Pearson grandson, Ritchie that discovers a mangled stranger in an unfamiliar uniform hiding near his home. Ritchie's father, Joshua Pearson, aids the foreigner's recovery and introduces him to the Sakai family, unwittingly giving the perfect cover for the stranded man.

In time, the young Akagi falls in love with Mary Sakai and questions his loyalty to a family he barely knows and an imperial social structure he never really understood or embraced.

Just as authorities of the United States are piecing together a puzzle that puts them hot on the heels of the transformed imposter, Yamamoto's fleet attacks Pearl Harbor and everyone's world is instantly transformed.

Pacific Vespers is the final installment of the trilogy and is due out in 2012.