Also a hit anime series, this book is a mix of historical detail, spectacular battles and romantic comedy.

A reason to act. A night out gambling and what Kenshin and Sanosuke bring back are not winnings, but a woman - Takani Megumi, mysterious and beautiful, pursued by the crooked industrialist Takeda Kanry - and in need of Kenshin's protection. Megumi, it seems, is the daughter of a famous family of physicians and, however unwillingly, has been participating in the production of a super-powerful, super-profitable form of opium. But now Kanry wants his "hen who lays the golden egg" back, while Sanosuke - who lost a friend to an opium overdose, and therefore sees only the worst in Megumi - would just as rather she did disappear. Kenshin, though, has looked into her eyes...seen the sadness...and knows that, whatever reason a man may need to act, for one who has seen as much as he, the plight of Megumi is for him enough.