This alternate version of the Napoleonic War--with dragons!--ramps up as the eighth and penultimate Temeraire novel takes us to Japan, where a shattered Captain Laurence is washed up on the shores remembering nothing of his past save as the captain of the navy ship Reliant. He struggles to remember why he is in Japan and why he has a startling knowledge of the Chinese language. He has no memory whatever of his dragon, Temeraire--which distresses Temeraire greatly when they are finally reunited. But so great is their bond that the two once again find themselves at the forefront of the war against Napoleon...just when all looks most hopeless.