In Hizen Province, Father Joaquim Martinez has been quietly tending to the life of his village - but his faith is about to be tested.

When the country's military dictator - the Shogun - outlaws Martinez's religion, his and the villagers' lives are thrown into turmoil.

Where once new ideas and beliefs had been accepted - with European Jesuits welcoming more than 100,000 converts into the Catholic faith - now the nation is shutting itself off from outside influences. Those who won't recant or accept banishment face a sentence of death.

With the threat of a massacre looming, and the Shogun's Samurai closing in, Father Martinez must decide if he's willing to risk everything for the villagers he's come to think of as family.

The Swords of Fire Trilogy, set in 17th century Japan, is inspired by actual historical events.