Straining to overcome his murderous instincts through zen meditation and blood deprivation he is reclaimed by The Ministry, an underground society waging war with the undead. Again and again he will find his will to resist tested by the killers who demand his allegiance and the zen masters who will burn him down at his first missed step as he strives to walk a tightrope between the living and the dead... to master himself and the way of the wooden stake.