Adventures in Japan left many scars on the body and soul of Alistair Amberhart, but the young man, not yet seventeen years old, continues to move forward. The imperial dynasty has ceased to exist, the Islands of the Rising Sun are being invaded from the mainland, aristocrats are beginning to squabble, and the north of the islands is being terrorized by a Hero who has gone off the rails. What should Lord Alistair Amberhart do at a time when such a mess is brewing around his new domain? Many things. It is necessary to deal with the problems growing like mushrooms, both around him and inside him. Different, urgent, private and global. And he knows how to do this in only one single way...