In 1276, Crusader Edward Gawain sails east from the Holy Land to escape the Saracens.Shipwrecked in Nippon, a land hitherto unknown to Westerners, he learns that the Mongol Empire attacked Nippon two years earlier. In the samurai capital Kamakura, Edward meets the young regent of the shogunate, Hojo Tokimune, who struggles to create a samurai-centered society.Trust and friendship grow between them as Edward mingles with the townsfolk and falls in love with the beautiful Lady Haruno. One day in winter 1280, news of a second Mongol assault arrives. Tokimune asks Edward to command the outnumbered Nippon forces in a war that will decide the future of the nation.Ted Takashima' s epic story challenges the historical lore of how Nippon was protected by the " Divine Wind" that miraculously blew against the Mongolian invaders and sank their ships.