As the youngest spiritual advisor of Foshana in over a century, Sai-Jun performs his duties with a single-mindedness that comes from years of study and training...or at least, he'd like to, except that a fateful encounter with a certain young man nearly a year ago continues to invade his thoughts. Worse still, that young man is Shen-Fei, son of General Shen-Ya, whose dangerous temper has inspired Sai-Jun's intense dislike.

For all his father's ambitions, Shen-Fei has no wish to follow in his footsteps as a warrior. Instead, his passion is for drawing—something the general will not tolerate. He also hides a dark secret that he dares not share with anybody—not even the one person who might be able to help.

With emotions threatening to come to a head amid the ever-present game of politics, will secrets be exposed too late? And even once they're revealed, will Sai-Jun and Shen-Fei be able to resolve past misunderstandings and rekindle their lost love?