Autumn, 1565: When an actor's daughter is murdered on the banks of
Kyoto's Kamo River, master ninja Hiro Hattori and Portuguese Jesuit
Father Mateo are the victim's only hope for justice. As political
tensions rise in the wake of the shogun's recent death, and rival
warlords threaten war, the Kyoto police forbid an investigation of the
killing, to keep the peace--but Hiro has a personal connection to the
girl, and must avenge her. The secret investigation leads Hiro and
Father Mateo deep into the exclusive world of Kyoto's theater guilds,
where they quickly learn that nothing, and no one, is as it seems. With
only a mysterious golden coin to guide them, the investigators uncover a
forbidden love affair, a missing mask, and a dangerous link to
corruption within the Kyoto police department that leaves Hiro and
Father Mateo running for their lives.