Ichiyo and Akehiko (both 15 years old) have been brought up in an amicable environment at a prosperous restaurant in Japan. They live a safe, happy life, but, as was the norm in feudal Japan, they train at the local dojo with determination to become strong. The times are turbulent, and the streets of nineteenth century Japan brim with violence. Under such conditions, the boys will have to learn what it means to wield a sword, to take someone’s life, and to understand the precarious life of living by the sword.