When an imperial princess disappears from the Ise shrine, Akitada, newly governor of Mikawa Province, has barely had time to settle there with his family before he is dispatched by imperial order on a secret assignment to locate her. The world Akitada finds at Ise turns out to be anything but spiritual. The pilgrimage town is a murky, dangerous place where no one can be trusted and where someone wants him dead. Gangs of robbers work the roads and...