 Can a sinful man change and find peace? It s unlikely in gang-plagued Japan. Jokichi of Mikogami, a drifter (a hired sword), goes straight after protecting a woman in distress: they marry, have a son, and Jokichi pursues his father s craft. After three years, the gangs he embarrassed when he saved the woman find them and leave Jokichi in grief, vowing revenge. To parry Jokichi s terrible swift sword, rival gangs join forces, hiring a prostitute to pose as a woman in distress and breaking the code of honor to double cross the drifter. He finds unlikely allies: a thief who aids him for fun and a one-eyed swordsman who may be Jokichi s equal in skill and honor. A woman watches.