Superb! Splendid! Glorious! No words can properly describe the magnificent tattoos worn by Yakuza gangsters, whose reputation makes tattooing an outlaw art in Japan. Seeking a full-body tattoo, Cobey Muller travels to Japan where the greatest master improbably accepts him for the required year-long process. As ink in Cobey’s skin reveals the master’s long-held ultimate concept, Cobey learns that he is not alone: A disgraced Yakuza has fled his gang carrying the same unfinished design. The master, fearing lethal consequences for any other Yakuza wearing the design, intends to complete it in secret on a foreigner. Discovery sweeps Cobey into a gang war where his work of art is the kiss of death. The scene of battle moves swiftly from Japan to California and back to Japan, while Cobey, as participant instead of bystander, finds love and hope along with betrayal, blood, and despair.