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!

As all of the interested parties begin to converge in Sapporo, only three tattooed skins that form the code that will lead to the Ainu gold remain to be found. One of them may belong to a serial killer stalking the city's back alleys and Sugimoto means to get to him before anyone else. But with so many different groups now involved in the hunt, some forced alliances may be necessary. But one thing is certain--only Asirpa herself has the key to solving the code!