The Kuroshio is the “Black Current,” which Japanese immigrants believed brought them safely across the Pacific Ocean to a new life in North America. This vividly imagined novel explores the dark reaches of Issei (Japanese immigrant) life in North America prior to World War II. A picture bride from Japan, disenchanted with her loveless marriage in her adopted homeland, turns to an Issei crime boss for help in dealing with a senseless tragedy. Full of unexpected twists and flashes of narrative color, Terry Watada’s novel combines historic fact with all the intrigue of a modern-day murder mystery.