-There's one thing you have to know from the beginning-this is a love story.- Thus begins the true story of Harold Stevens, who joined the navy as a boy in the closing months of World War II, and during the occupation of Japan encountered a girl who would change his life forever. She was an elite geisha, one of the greatest cultural icons in Japanese society, and his infatuation marked the beginning of a singular journey encompassing forbidden passion, a bold crime, ruinous war, a man's triumphs and tragedies, and in the end, an enduring love.