Yukio's two best friends are dead. Tormented and blackmailed by the Yakuza - the Japanese mafia - they have taken their own lives.

Yukio is a kendo champion and he knows all the stories of the samurai. Heartbroken and furious, he is determined to avenge the deaths of his beloved Hiroshi and Miko.

And so begins a deadly struggle between Yukio and the Yakuza, and between Yukio's capacity for love, and his thirst for revenge.

Shot through with the beauty of Tokyo in spring, this is an unforgettable and uncompromising read.

This book has been graded for interest at 12-17 years.

There are 304 pages in this book. This book was published 2012 by Hachette Children's Group .

Gregory Hughes was born in Liverpool, the eighth child in a family of nine. Expelled from school, he spent several years in a home for wayward boys. He has since travelled the world working in a variety of jobs. His first novel, Unhooking the Moon, won the Booktrust Teenage Prize in 2010. He now lives in Los Angeles.