In 1470s Japan, a civil war began among a single noble family, soon sweeping up civilians and much of the main island in its wake. A young peasant woman, Shige, soon finds her peaceful village caught up in the fray. While taking refuge in the surrounding mountains, she discovers a blind stranger, who claims allegiance to a missing samurai. The two set out to find the samurai in Kyoto, finding an ever-growing adventure neither had anticipated.