A priest of an Imperial shrine in Japan commits suicide under mysterious circumstances. A name in the death poem he left behind leads investigators to an American Professor William Sandwell, who claims he is innocent. Scars in the burnt skin of the victim and the disappearance of a mythical Imperial relic point to a brutal robbery. Pressured for answers by the Imperial Household Agency, Japan's most powerful government organization, Sandwell goes in search of the missing relic. Archaeologist Catherine Yamazaki joins Sandwell in his hunt for the relic. Together they enter the forbidden sanctuary of Japan's holiest site, Ise Jingu, dedicated to the Sun Goddess. Assisted by Inspector Yamashita of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police District, they discover a trail of evidence that confirms their worst fears and the trio race against time to recover the relic before Japan's deepest secret is unveiled.