Summer, 2004— An old man lies alone on his deathbed. Weary and unresponsive, the only sounds that fill the room are the vague echoes of disembodied voices. The dreams he sees—or rather the flickering images of his life—filled with memories from a forgotten time of his youth. Wandering through these memories, the old man seeks lost fragments of his former self. For human memory weaves history; what he conjures may ultimately shape the world. When he awakens again, what kind of world will he see?
Summer, 1923—Tokyo— As the memories of the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars begin to fade, the Empire stands shoulder to shoulder with Western powers as democracy blossoms at last. Cafés brim with the scents of freedom and progress while young literary enthusiasts gather around coffee tables passionately discussing art. In Asakusa, a towering twelve-story building looms over lively six districts filled with penny arcades and theaters. Gas lamps cast a warm glow over youths whispering romantic sweet nothings.
The old man had once been that young boy in those lively scenes. Now a seventeen-year-old military cadet is enjoying the fleeting bliss of his summer break. What did he see? What did he do? And what did he lose? The memories of this dying man intersect with the very currents that forge his nation’s destiny—and all converge here.
And it is here that he will meet his fate. Even if it happens to be in the form of a series of grotesque murders casting shadows over the capital.
