Book Synopsis Though World War Two is raging, for the geisha of the Hirata house, life is quiet and focused. Ayana, known as Hanako the geisha, the most famous in Kyoto, has little to contend with besides her duties as a lady of the house with ritual and charm, and the attentions of Taichi Imamura, a soldier bent on becoming her patron. When a letter arrives from an old friend, hinting at atrocities being committed in Manchuria, Ayana determines to leave the safety of the Hirata house to locate her. What she finds is far worse than she could have expected: a network of comfort camps where women are abducted and held for the pleasure of soldiers. War cannot stay away from the Hirata house for long, and when it finds them, the geishas there have a choice: fall in line, or fight for what they believe in, even against their own country.