Young Ono no Komachi enters the service of the Imperial Palace and becomes the lady-in-waiting of one of the consorts. Soon, she encounters an inexplicable phenomenon: a mysterious flying golden palanquin appears on the outskirts of the capital Heian.
The young lady-in-waiting marries a brilliant guardsman. However, he dies during the suppression of an uprising in one of the outlying provinces. To drown out the pain of loss, the lady-in-waiting is engaged in poetry. The Empress highly appreciates Ono no Komachi and her work. And soon the girl becomes her lady-in-waiting...