At seventeen years old Mariko is sent to the imperial palace to meet her betrothed, a man she did not choose and the son of the emperor, for the first time. The trip is cut short when her convoy is attacked by the Black Clan, a dangerous group of bandits that have been hired to kill Mariko before she reaches the palace. Mariko escapes to the woods where she plots her revenge. She cuts her hair short and dresses herself as a boy to infiltrate the Black Clan and hunt down the ones responsible for trying to kill her.
