Lucy Blackman, a young, tall Englishwoman with blonde hair, went out onto the streets of Tokyo in the summer of 2000 and disappeared without a trace. The following winter, her dismembered remains were found in a cave along the coast. This book by a British journalist who became a direct participant in the events not only tells this sensational case but also meticulously explores the subtle nuances that distinguish the European mindset from the Japanese one. As the investigation progresses, a credible picture of the psychological climate of the Land of the Rising Sun unfolds before the reader—infinitely foreign and mysterious to the rest of the world.