A novel about the decline of the aristocratic Hayato family during the early years of the twentieth century. Tomiko is the daughter and only child of a Samurai family in the remote Japanese town of Himari. Because he has no heir, the father adopts Nagayuki, a boy from an impoverished upper class family, to be his adopted son with the understanding that he will marry Tomiko. Hayato becomes the victim of ruthless businessmen and as the son of a Samurai, Nagayuki must go alone to the United States to make his fortune and (hopefully) return in triumph. Tomiko and their young child remain behind at her father's insistence. The novel moves inexorably to its poignant conclusion. Hayato remains the determining factor--he exemplifies the decline of the Samurai class and the corruption of the old Japan, and his failure tragically engulfs his loved ones too.