The Shima Imperium verges on total collapse. Land and sky have been poisoned by clockwork industrialisation, the Lotus Guild oppresses the populace and the nation’s Shogun is lost in his thirst for power. Yukiko and her warrior father are forced to hunt down a griffin at the Shogun’s command. But any fool knows griffins are extinct - and death will be the price of failure. Disaster befalls the hunt, and Yukiko is stranded in the wilderness with a fabled griffin, now furious and crippled. Although she can hear his thoughts, and saved his life, Yukiko knows he’d rather see her dead than help her. And discovery of the talent allowing them to communicate would mean her execution. Yet together, the pair will form an indomitable bond, and rise to challenge an empire.