Richard, the ambitious third son of the House of York, believes he is cursed, damned from birth to eternal darkness. But is it truly fate that sets him on the path to personal destruction? Or his own tormented longings? Based on an early draft of Shakespeare's Richard III, Aya Kanno's dark fantasy finds the man who could be king standing between worlds, between classes, between good and evil.

Richard's father, the patriarch of the House of York, seems poised to become king of medieval England during the Wars of the Roses. But just as success appears imminent, he is attacked. Now in the midst of deep despair, Richard acts out in revenge and must face a powerful and beautiful new enemy.