Set in ancient Japan, Natsuhiko Kyogoku's chilling series interweaves tales of karma and retribution with supernatural tricksters and spirits. In The Corpse at the Crossroads, the Mendicant joins forces with a Kyoto criminal gang to try to discover what is behind the appearance of a succession of decomposing female corpses at a busy crossroads just outside the ancient capital, a spot associated with a ghostly legend. The Mendicant must come to grips with a Buddhist parable about the impermanence of all things and confront his own fears about death before solving this perplexing and disturbing riddle.