It is set in ancient China, during the Han dynasty, and continues the story of Ping, a slave girl turned dragonkeeper.

[1] School Library Journal's Quinby Frank highlighted the novel's protagonist, calling Ping "an appealingly feisty heroine".

Frank also noted that "the dragon's baby talk that Ping hears inside her head makes him seem more real, if a bit silly".

Frank also praised Wilkinson's ability to "a vivid picture of life in the Imperial Ming Yang Lodge" but warned about some of the "horrifyingly graphic" scenes related to "the necromancer's practices".

[2] In contrast, Kirkus Reviews called the novel "glacially paced" and noted that the main quest, which "jump-starts a chain of revelations and betrayals that culminate in a second", "ends anticlimactically".