A historical novel centered on Katsu Kaishu and his father Kokichi, portraying Edo society on the eve of the late Tokugawa upheavals. Through a turbulent father-son bond, it brings out both the constraints of samurai life and the nerve required in an age of change.

The novel depicts the spirit of the father and son who shaped a statesman of the late Tokugawa era, together with the pulse of Edo life.