It is the second novel in Isaka's Hitman trilogy, after 3 Assassins (original Japanese title: Grasshopper), published in 2004,[1] and before AX in 2017,[2][3] with characters from the novel also being incorporated into the spin-off manga series Waltz, serialized in Shogakukan's Monthly Shōnen Sunday from October 10, 2009,[4] to February 10, 2012.

[5] At Tokyo Station, Yuichi Kimura, a former hitman, boards the "Hayate" train on the Tōhoku Shinkansen bound for Morioka to take revenge against the teenage Satoshi Oji, who is referred to as "the Prince" by his friends.

Nanao is a hitman with the code name "Ladybug", who constantly laments how unlucky he is; every job he takes has been successful, but somewhere it goes wrong and becomes much more difficult than anticipated.

[6] It received a starred review from Publishers Weekly[7] as well as Booklist, where Christine Tran described it as "a twisty, darkly hilarious game of musical chairs that draws out the train's hidden army of assassins and a strong dose of Machiavellian justice.

[15][16] The novel also inspired the Hollywood film adaptation, Bullet Train, directed by David Leitch and starring Brad Pitt.