When the exiled Prince Okisada, the most illustrious prisoner of the penal colony on Sado Island, is poisoned, Sugawara Akitada is called upon by the emperor’s envoys to investigate incognito. The accused murderer is the son of the governor of the island, but Akitada suspects greater treachery. Posing as a prisoner, Akitada discovers a deadly conspiracy, only to fall into the hands of brutal guards and disappear. It falls to Tora, Akitada’s devoted assistant, to begin his own dangerous search of the island for his lost friend and the truth.
“Parker has created a wonderful protagonist in Akitada.” –The Boston Globe
“Deftly combines an action-packed plot with convincing period detail to bring eleventh-century Japan to life.” –Publishers Weekly
