In Edo Period Japan, justice is sometimes a difficult thing to achieve by normal means. In these cases, the aggrieved will hire shigakenin, deadly assassins who strike without mercy to kill those who might otherwise escape their rightful ends. Fujieda Baian is an acupuncturist who serves his community faithfully as a healer. There are times, though, when he becomes an entirely different person - one whose skills as a healer are used to kill those who believe themselves to be above the law and beyond justice. Shot in Old Edo and other historic locations in Japan, this crime drama captures well the dark flavor of the novels by Shotaro Ikenami on which it is based.