Richard, the ambitious third son of the House of York, believes he is cursed, damned from birth to eternal darkness. But is it truly fate that sets him on the path to personal destruction? Or his own tormented longings? Based on an early draft of Shakespeare's Richard III, Aya Kanno's dark fantasy finds the man who could be king standing between worlds, between classes, between good and evil.

A final test stands between Richard and the throne. Having failed to kill Richard, Edward V and his younger brother are sent to the Tower of London. Now that his political enemies have vanished, will Richard finally be able to take the crown?