It is 1862 & Japan is a land in chaos as the power of the Shogun wanes & the rival factions plan to restore the Emperor. In Yokohama the gai-jin the hated foreigners seek to profit from the chaos. At the head of the Noble House
- & heir to the title of Tai-Pan
- stands Malcolm Struan who is determined to become his own man & marry the woman he loves. At the head of the Shogunate party is the Lord Yoshi a direct descendant of Shogun Toranaga who shares all of his ancestors cunning & ambition.