"You...will never...be...king!" Sui-Tsai threatened between clenched teeth. "I will personally see to that." Almost immediately after being named king, Prince Sheiji's life is threatened by his very own brothers. Overcome with jealousy and furious that they were passed over in favor of the youngest son of the late King Kawa, the two eldest princes seek to oust Sheiji from his throne and take his place as rulers of the country of Imatsuro. Forced to flee for his life, Sheiji is driven into the outside world with little knowledge of its people or customs. As a young, pampered prince, Sheiji has never needed the skills his life now depends upon--quick thinking, innate instincts, even just the will to survive. But when Sheiji begins to enjoy his new life a little too much, he must make a decision: continue his difficult but carefree life as a streetboy or return to the people who are counting on their king to save them from a tyrannical usurper.