Intrigue and danger increase as Princess Kazunomiya's once-sheltered life in nineteenth-century Japan changes, in Newbery Honor author Kathryn Lasky's latest addition to THE ROYAL DIARIES series. Kazunomiya, along with her royal family, is thought to be a divinity, descended from the goddess of the sun, and she lives an extremely sheltered life. However, when a Japanese general signs a treaty with the white-faced men from America, uncertainty and turmoil erupt in the kingdom. But the external threats do not compare to the tangled intrigue, romance, and politics that dominate the imperial palace, as wives and queens plot to destroy Kazunomiya and her mother.