The story takes place in a future Japan, reduced to a barren desert by a catastrophe at the end of the 21st century.

The main character is Sarasa, a girl whose twin brother, Tatara, is prophesied to be the "child of destiny" (運命の子供 or 運命の少年) who will bring back the country's independence and stop the tyrannical rule of the Empire, namely the Red King.

[6] Viz Media licensed the manga for an English-language release in North America; they published 27 volumes from August 2003 to May 2008.

[13][14] In Basara's post-apocalyptic setting, Japan has been controlled by a succession of corrupt and oppressive rulers of Saffron Clan.

He later appointed territories to the remaining children, allowing them to rule as subordinate kings and expend their energies in rivalries among each other, instead of trying to dethrone him.

Four swords named for the gods of the Four Symbols—Byakko, Suzaku, Seiryū and Genbu—forged for fallen rebel leaders two generations past, are the symbols of underground resistance groups across Japan.

When the local ruler, the Red King, destroys her village and has her brother beheaded, she assumes his name and duty to lead her people in rebellion.

Unknown to Sarasa, Shuri is really the Red King, upon whom she has sworn revenge for destroying her village and killing her family.

There are stories about the world of Basara before and after the events of the main storyline, and the others are about the lives of the other sub-characters such as Hijiri, Nachi, Masunaga, and Tamon.

[2] While generally very faithful to the manga, some material from further into the story was cut, such as Senju's assassination attempt and the Suzuno Murder Race episode.