Fujiwara no Mitsuko finds herself cursed by ghosts and bad luck. The furious spirit of a dead king demands she keep a forgotten promise, and he gives her a series of impossible tasks. If she fails, the spirit will hand her over to the Lord of the Dead. Desperate, Mitsuko again turns to the mischievous shape-shifter Goranu for help. By his side, she journeys through a landscape of Japanese myths and ledgends made real, and through his lessons in the Way of the Tengu, she gradually learns to think for herself.