The Band of the Hawk and their enigmatic leader Griffith continue winning battle after battle as their prestige throughout the kingdom of Midland grows. But their latest task is one that has seen failure from everyone who has attempted it: the subjugation of the impenetrable fortress of Doldrey.

One year has passed since Guts left the Band of the Hawk and Griffith was imprisoned by the Kingdom of Midland for treason. In the dead of night, at a camping site where they hide, the Band of the Hawk is attacked by Bakiraka assassins led by Silat. When all seems lost, Guts returns from his journey. "You destroyed everything." Crying that Griffith is nothing without Guts, Casca and Guts are joined together body and soul. Griffith is imprisoned in the oldest building in Wyndham Catle, the Tower of Rebirth.

The Black Swordsman has flash backs to years past and his trials and tribulations in the Band of the Hawk.