China and Japan in the 1830s, two countries where entry into the country by foreigners is either prohibited or their movement within the country severely restricted, is the backdrop for the story of Noah Cole's attempt to rescue his sister, Mary, after pirates kidnap her. Noah follows Mary's trail from the South China Sea to the manmade island, Dejima, in Nagasaki Bay, where only Dutch and Chinese merchants are allowed. From Dejima, Mary's trail leads to a bordello inside Yoshiwara, the centuries-old Japanese pleasure quarter. Noah must now find a way to enter Japan, where foreigners could be executed if found in the country without permission from the shogunate, something rarely given. A fast-paced action/adventure story, set in China and Japan in the 1830s, about a brother s quest to rescue his sister."