Fukuoka Prison, 1944. Beyond the prison walls the war rages; inside a man is found brutally murdered.

Watanabe, a young guard with a passion for reading, is tasked with finding the killer. The victim, Sugiyama --- also a guard --- was feared and despised throughout the prison and investigations have barely begun when a powerful inmate confesses. But Watanabe is unconvinced; and as he interrogates both the suspect and Yun Dong-ju, a talented Korean poet, he begins to realise that the fearsome guard was not all he appeared to be...

As Watanabe unravels Sugiyama’s final months, he begins to discover what is really going on inside this dark and violent institution, which few inmates survive: a man who will stop at nothing to dig his way to freedom; a governor whose greed knows no limits; a little girl whose kite finds her an unlikely friend. And Yun Dong-ju --- the poet whose works hold such beauty they can break the hardest of hearts.

As the war moves towards its devastating close and bombs rain down upon the prison, Watanabe realises that he must find a way to protect Yun Dong-ju, no matter what it takes. His decision will lead the young guard back to the investigation --- where he will discover a devastating truth.