In the early twentieth century, Russo-Japanese War veteran Saichi Sugimoto searches the wilderness of Hokkaido for a hoard of hidden gold. With only a cryptic map and a native Ainu girl to help him, Saichi must also deal with every murderous cutthroat, bandit and rogue who knows about the treasure!

Only three of the tattooed skins that will lead to the hidden Ainu gold remain to be found. One of them belongs to an infamous serial killer stalking Sapporo's back alleys, and Sugimoto means to find him before anyone else does. But with Hijikata's group also on the hunt and Lt. Tsurumi and the 7th Division on the way, some forced alliances may be necessary. One thing is certain--only Asirpa has the key to solving the tattooed code!