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A historical chronicle set amid the violent politics of medieval Japan follows the Hojo clan's ascendance and ruin through intertwined personal and political tragedies. A gentle temple-bred woman is married into a brutal samurai household and struggles with her husband's cruelty and the coarse world of retainers. As vendettas, executions, court intrigues, and a mysterious curse called upon Koshiu unfold, provincial daimios, the mikado, and religious figures maneuver for power, and destiny brings ruin to tyrants and suffering to innocents. Themes include the corrosive effects of unchecked power, conflicting codes of honor and compassion, and the interplay of fate, vengeance, and Buddhist resignation.
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Thus was the prophecy fulfilled,--the death-cry of the martyr answered. Buddha was awake, the while he seemed to sleep. By grim decree of outraged Heaven the race of tyrants was extinguished, leaving no rack behind save a loathed and dishonoured name.