Prologue Summary

A missionary from Portugal named Christovao Ferreira has reportedly apostatized following grueling torture and is now missing in Japan. One of his final letters to the Church in Rome details the extreme measures that the Japanese authorities are taking against Japanese Christians. Seven people, including five priests, a woman, and a young girl, are taken to the boiling waters near Unzen. There they are tied to stakes while hot water is ladled over them. Unable to force the Christians to apostatize the torturers remove them from the stakes and confine the woman to house of ill repute and imprison the priests in a local prison.

Three of Ferreira's students plan to enter Japan secretly in order to find the truth about Ferreira's fate. Francisco Garrpe, Juan de Santa Marta and Sebastian Rodrigues beseech the Roman church to allow them to pursue their mission...