In 80 BC, twelve-year-old Liu Bingyi kept an appointment at an inn outside Chang'an to learn martial arts. There he met Xu Pingjun, a girl traveling alone with her dead mother's remains. A precious Ferghana horse forged a deep friendship between them. By a twist of fate, they also met Yun Lang, a wandering boy, and a pair of sisters from the Western Regions as different as fire and ice. Together, the five friends drove off their enemies, escaped danger, and became sworn siblings, bound by affection and loyalty.
Five years later, when they met again in Chang'an, family feuds and national grievances had turned them into enemies. Faced with tests of friendship, love, and power, what path would Liu Bingyi choose? When he ascended the throne, why had the lovely woman by his side become so unfamiliar? In his dreams, he saw once more the vast plains, while dew in the wind quietly dampened his palm.
