Unemployed computer operator and amateur sleuth Ken Tanaka is thrilled at the chance to visit his ancestors' homeland, especially when it's courtesy of a Tokyo talk show that wants to interview him about his role in solving a recent murder case. But Ken's fifteen minutes of fame could prove fatal-- if the Japanese Mafia has its way. Why has the Yakuza targeted him?

The answer, Ken discovers, is tied to the murder of an organized-crime figure in Manhattan...to the bizarre, sex-related death of a student in Japan...and to his own purchase of an ancient samurai sword at a Los Angeles garage sale. Now Ken is on the trail of a 300-year-old mystery that could soon have him pushing up bamboo shoots.