In Book I of the Otori trilogy, Across the nightingale floor, Lian Hearn created a wholly original, fully-realized fantasy world where great powers clashed and young love dawned against a dazzling and mystical landscape. Nightingale was named a New York times Notable Book of the Year, one of Book magazine's best novels of the year, and one of School library journal's Best Adult Books for High School Readers. In this second tale, we return to the story of Takeo--the young orphan taken up by the Otori Lord and now a closely held member of the Tribe--and his beloved Shirakawa Kaede, heir to the Maruyama, who must find a way to unify the domain she has inherited. In a complex social hierarchy, amid dissembling clans and fractured alliances, there is no place for passionate love.