1861 Growing up in rural Japan, Sachi has always felt different, her pale skin setting her apart When she is 11, a princess passes through her village, sweeping her off to the women' palace in Edo, home to 3000 women and only one man - the young shogun Sachi is chosen as his concubine But Japan is changing As civil war erupts, Sachi flees for her life Rescued by a rebel warrior, she finds unknown feelings stirring within her But before she dare dream of a life with him, Sachi must unravel the mystery of her own origins - a mystery that encompasses a wrong so terrible that it threatens to destroy her