[1] After shooting down his seventh MiG over Korea, Air Force Major Lloyd Gruver is recalled to lighter duties in Kobe, a transfer arranged by Brigadier General Mark Webster.

On his way to collect his orders, he is told he will be accompanying Airman Joe Kelly, who has gone above his superiors to obtain special permission from his congressman to marry Katsumi, a Japanese citizen, despite contemporary laws which invalidate the marriage.

When they land in Kobe, Lloyd receives two surprises: Joe asks him to be his best man and Eileen Webster appears, the daughter of the General and his fiancée of four years; the transfer is plainly meant to commit them to marriage.

He reports to Itami Airfield for his next assignment, where he is befriended by Lieutenant Mike Bailey, the Marine pilot who is dating Fumiko, and together they go watch the Takarazuka performers returning to their dormitory.

To provide a plausible cover story, Lloyd accompanies Mike to a meeting with Fumiko at a local restaurant, as the Keihanshin Kyūkō Railway, the operator of the Revue, has prohibited any relationships for its performers, including dalliances with American soldiers; nevertheless, they are caught by other Takarazuka members, cutting the evening short.

Katsumi, denied access to the post exchange due to the prejudice of Lieutenant Colonel Calhoun Craford, asks Lloyd to purchase American-style panties for her; embarrassed by the errand, he realizes how profoundly unhappy the American wives are when they loudly judge his confusion and presumptive Japanese girlfriend.

Hana-ogi tells him the story of her namesake, the oiran Hanaōgi of the Ōgiya brothel, a famed beauty who disappeared for years, rumored to have run off with a lover, then returned and worked until she was old and forgotten.

Lloyd learns how lucky he is, immersed in a neighborhood of Japanese couples with varying happiness, and decides to start the paperwork to marry Hana-ogi; she rejects his proposal and instead takes him to a museum in Kyoto to view ukiyo-e prints of the oiran Hanaōgi.

He is confused, calling the depictions in the prints from masters including Shunchō and Utamaro "ugly" and "disgusting"; Hana-ogi explains she wanted him to better understand her background and why she continues to reject his proposals.

The next day Lloyd meets with General Webster, who gives him a telegram saying that Congress is working on legislation to recognize Japanese wives and a brief farewell letter from Hana-ogi before offering him a ride to the air field, accompanied by Eileen.

[7] Kirkus Reviews also compared it to Butterfly and said it suited "a far more feminine [...] audience than The Bridges of Toko-Ri" [sic], adding the earlier novel by Michener "might be more practical in its understanding and tolerance.