It's 1950 and war rages over the Korean Peninsula. Carl, a U.S. fighter pilot crashes and is imprisoned in a North Korean POW camp. His trials and tribulations lead to his decision not to return to the U.S. but to remain in Japan. Ichiro a Japanese war veteran wins a Fulbright scholarship to study in California, where events during his WWII service come back to haunt him.

The career paths of Carl and Ichiro converge in Japan. A Cold War espionage plot is uncovered, then the Vietnam War engulfs Carl, and a natural disaster intervenes in Ichiro's life. An exceptional tale of the turmoil of 1950's political life in America, and the resurgence of post-war Japan.