However, Laurence applies himself willingly to the diplomatic mission at hand: he, an honorary son of the Jiaqing Emperor, is to visit Peking in hopes of forming an alliance between China and the United Kingdom.

No sooner has he arrived than he is swept up in local politics; conservatives are attempting to assassinate the heir to the throne, Prince Mianning (the future Daoguang Emperor), using Western decoys as their catspaws.

This assassination has attacked Mianning's legitimacy, as an Emperor must have a Celestial companion and there are now none to spare; to this end, Temeraire consents to couple with Lung Qin Mei, an Imperial he had grown fond of during his last sojourn in China, to attempt to breed a new one.

Under the overall command of General Chu, an experienced dragon who helped put down the original rebellion in 1804, the joint British-Chinese force moves out, allowing the British contingent a chance to see the Chinese military at work.

After fighting them off, he and Laurence reconcile and realize that the entire rebellion is a "false flag operation" designed by Chinese conservatives, led by General Fela, to discredit the British.

With Iskierka's egg safely bestowed into Chinese care, Laurence and Temeraire, accompanied by General Chu and a newly mustered army, head northwest to Russia, whilst the rest of Lily's formation returns to the Potentate to give aid in Portugal.

Though Laurence and Temeraire succeed in capturing Marshal Murat (whom the Tsar exiles to Tobolsk) and his dragon Liberté, this does not prevent Napoleon from advancing on the Russian position at Kaluga.