First volume of the Asian Trilogy.
Vital clues emerge from the dramatic events of July 1853 when steam-driven US Navy warships loomed shockingly out of the haze cloaking Tokyo Bay. Rumours that foreign monsters had arrived on smoking volcanos engulfed the civilian population in hysteria - and hordes of feudal warriors rushed to defend the coastline of the world's most isolated realm.
With these two nations teetering on the brink of war, Robert Eden, an idealistic young New England officer, swims secretly ashore on his own unauthorised peace mission, inspired by the haunting moonlit beacon of Mount Fuji.
On land he clashes with fearsome Prince Tanaka Yoshio - and encounters Tokiwa, a beautiful and courages geisha fleeing amidst the general panic. The intense emotinal entanglements that follow will ensnare Eden and his decendants in Japan's destiny for generations to come.
