A sad-sack, part-time ironmonger has been abandoned by his girlfriend. When she tries to dump his collection of Asian knick-knacks at a local antique dealer, she sets off a chain of events that implicates them in a mythical history. The ironmonger turns out to be a majestic prince, destined to fight the last of the great demons, an unnamed force that keeps human beings in bondage. But his major strength--and weakness--is a woman: a beautiful, inspiring swordswoman who is destined to betray him. Magic boxes, sensational swordplay and fantastical happenings converge simultaneously on a rural house outside Helsinki and in the misty mountains of remote China until the truth about a puzzling contemporary archaeological find is at last revealed.