In 1600 the English helmsman John Blackthorne is shipwrecked on the coast of Japan. He is seen as an uncivilized barbarian, but the local daimio is interested in him and instructs him to treat him well. The problem, however, is that Blackthorne can only communicate with the Japanese through the Catholic Portuguese - who are attempting to convert Japan - while they are precisely the enemies of Protestant England. However, there are also tensions between the daimio, and Blackthorne's knowledge of seafaring and the muskets brought with him could be of decisive importance in an approaching war. He soon becomes a pawn in a complex power game. Based on James Clavell's novel of the same name.