Spring 1873: I arrived in Japan a virgin bride, heartsick and anxious beyond measure. Yet I embraced this perplexing world after uncovering an erotic, intoxicating power I hardly knew that I, Katie O'Roarke, possessed.Japan was a world away from my tedious Western existence, a welcome distraction from my marriage to a cold, cruel husband. But when James attacked me, I could tolerate it no longer.... I had no choice but to escape into the hills. I awoke in the arms of a young Samurai, who took me to Shintaro, the head of the powerful Samurai clan.At first distrustful, Shintaro came to me every day for a fortnight until my need for him made my heart race at the sound of his feet upon the floor. He taught me the way of the Samurai—loyalty, honor, self-respect—and the erotic possibilities of inner beauty unleashed.But James means to find me, to make me pay for his humiliation. I can no longer hide as rebellions rage, and as my own secret continues to grow....