Scorpion: A Japanese Historical Fiction Novel

Men speak of sacrifice, but only a woman who has lost everything truly knows what the word means. It is said that the gods become offended when mere humans try to usurp their supremacy in directing earthly affairs. Keiko learns this in a way that leaves her with nothing but crushing grief.To catch a traitor, Keiko must lower herself to serve the man who betrayed her, forced to become his slave. When she loses the thing that has come to mean more to her than anything else in the world, she does not know if she can-or should-continue fighting. If life is only suffering, she would rather die an honorable death.She is alone, abandoned by the world, and it is only by the strangest twist of fate that a figure from her past returns and promises to help her turn disaster into triumph.But will the cost be worth it?