I. J. Parker is the author of a series of historical detective novels about the adventures of Akitada Sugawara, a young official of the Heian era, a brilliant investigator. I. J. Parker's books are extremely popular in the USA, Europe and Asia, and the first of them was awarded the prestigious Seamus.Heian-Kyo Award. The capital of peace and tranquility. A city that will not soon be renamed Kyoto. The residence of the imperial court of the Heian era, an era of exquisite poetry and prose, elegant court ladies - and sophisticated intrigues and crimes. After several years spent in the provinces, Akitada returns to the capital and learns about mysterious crimes committed there. An unknown young woman was brutally murdered in a mountain monastery... Mutilated bodies of people are found again and again on the streets of the city... Akitada is sure that all these crimes are connected. He must find the killers as quickly as possible, because the next victim could be his little son...