Keiko thought she was becoming a true samurai warrior, but the loss of her sister will make her doubt everything. Keiko's revenge on her enemies is almost complete. Like the chameleon, she has changed herself to attract and entrap the men she seeks. Now, just one man remains unpunished. But before she can complete her vengeance, karma destroys her plans cruelly. Niko-her adopted younger sister-is kidnapped. Keiko is sure she knows who is behind...

Even the strongest woman has her breaking point, and Keiko has reached hers. Sick at heart and wanting only to leave her past behind her, Keiko is drawn to the sea. Seeking refuge from the world that has nearly torn her spirit apart, she boards the first ship she finds and sails away gladly from her former life. Although Keiko thinks she is done with her past life, fate has much more in store. Her ship is taken by a band of wokou—desperate pirates...

At the end of the beginning, and the beginning of the end, a journey will come full circle... When Keiko suffers a terrible, personal loss, she believes that she has been reduced to nothing and can no longer wield her samurai sword. In order to survive, she is forced to become little more than a beggar, a humiliating ending for a woman who once inspired legends. But fate still has her own plans for Keiko's future. After traveling the world, and...

When Keiko chooses duty over love, she wonders if the code of the samurai is worth the heartache. Leaving Edo to save the life of a man she once loved, Keiko must give up everything she has worked for. She vows one day to return, but she has learned the hard lesson that the gods have a dark sense of humor. The city of Kobe seems a world away from Edo, a place where she could disappear, become whoever she wants to be, and leave the way of the samurai...