Parker brings back the protagonist from his Shamus Award-winning short story to star in this debut novel, set in eleventh-century Japan. Akitada Sugawara, an earnest young nobleman with a reputation for solving crimes, is approached by his former professor and mentor, who is concerned about possible blackmail at Imperial University. Akitada agrees to take a temporary teaching position in order to find the rotten apple among the faculty, but he soon finds himself investigating not only the blackmail but also the murder of a young woman, the subsequent murder of a professor, and the mysterious death of a prince whose grandson is one of Akitada's students. He is also wondering why the love of his life has inexplicably refused his offer of marriage. The story moves slowly and seems overlong--maybe Parker could have saved a few of these mysteries for Akitada's next appearance--but the characters feel genuine, as does the unusual setting.