aristocrat—a stranger—unmasks the lies of a superpower. Autumn 1999. A Japanese international student arrives at a prestigious, historic university on the American East Coast. His name is Rintaro Kadowaki, 21. He is the scion of the Kadowaki family, a former noble house renowned as marquises before the war. Yet, as if to evade the suffocating obligations of his lineage, the young man has chosen to immerse himself in criminal psychology and profiling. Armed with an innate, "aristocratically detached power of observation," cutting-edge psychology, and a bottomless depth of intellect, he unravels a myriad of enigmas. From bizarre incidents occurring around campus to the dark underbelly of the political and financial elite, and even occult-tinged urban legends—nothing escapes his gaze. But writhing beneath the surface of these episodic mysteries are the shadows of the state, and dark conspiracies building toward the upcoming presidential election. Fusing the brilliant deductive flair of a Holmesian mystery with a spy noir set at a historical turning point, this is a stylish thriller crafted for mature readers.