Set in 1622, when the religious wars and persecutions of musketeer France and medieval Japan furthered prejudice and intolerance, The Crystals of Yukitake tells the story of Monique de Champlain's quest for healing. Young and beautiful, she asks nothing more from life than always to be happy. Her dashing fiance, buccaneer Rodrigo Oliveiro de Sousa, agrees-he believes their happiness can be guaranteed by the perfect health and endless wealth granted by certain blood-red crystals which legend says lie hidden on a mountaintop in faraway Japan. His success in his resolve takes on a dire urgency for Monique when a plague visits her town of Pontoise and robs her of all she holds dear. As Monique shelters with nuns, Rodrigo voyages across the globe. But Japan in the 1620s is a dangerous place for foreigners, especially Europeans. There are deep scars for the wondrous crystals to heal. But will Rodrigo honor his promise to share them?-If he can discover the secret directions to Yukitake. A ronin samurai who calls himself the "Guardian of Jewels" is also interested in locating the sacred mountain. Who will get there first? The quest is on... Adventure and fantasy, lightly kissed with romance, swirl together inside and beyond the enclosure of a French convent and Japan's Tokaido road in Elizabeth D'Onofrio's illuminating drama of desire and transcendence where West and East face each other along the same path to the interior. The Crystals of Yukitake takes the reader on a spiritual journey that touches the soul.