Following Shōgun Yoritomo's assassination, the threat of civil war looms over the Shima Imperium. The Lotus Guild conspires to renew the Shōgun's broken dynasty and crush the growing rebellion. Yukiko is blinded by rage over her father's death, and her ability to hear the thoughts of beasts is swelling beyond her control. Along with Buruu, Yukiko's anchor is the rebel Guildsman Kin. But the boy has his own secrets, and is haunted by dreams of a future he'd rather die than see realized. And a new enemy gathers its strength, readying to push the fracturing Shima Imperium into war. Sent on a mission across storm-tossed oceans, Yukiko and her mighty thunder tiger will face a foe no sword or talon can defeat: Buruu's own blood-stained past.

