Shibumi

Forced Out Of Retirement, A Reluctant Assassin Must Face His Most Dangerous Enemy. Nicolai Hel Is A Westerner Brought Up In Japan And Is The Protégé Of A Japanese Go Master. Hel Survived The Destruction Of Hiroshima To Emerge As The World's Most Artful Lover And Its Most Accomplished Assassin. Hel Is A Genius, A Mystic, And A Master Of Language And Culture, And His Secret Is His Determination To Attain A Rare Kind Of Personal Excellence, A State Of Effortless Perfection Known Only As Shibumi. Now Living In An Isolated Mountain Fortress, Hel Is Unwillingly Drawn Back Into The Life He'd Tried To Leave Behind When A Beautiful Young Stranger Arrives At His Door, Seeking Help And Refuge. It Soon Becomes Clear That Hel Is Being Tracked By A Deadly Force -- A Sinister Organisation Known Only As The Mother Company. The Battle Lines Are Drawn: Ruthless Power And Corruption On One Side, And On The Other . . .shibumi.