Napoleon's vast armies have consolidated his hold on Europe, and at last his plans are ready for the invasion of England itself. But Captain Will Laurence has been jailed for treason, and his dragon Temeraire consigned to the breeding grounds in Wales. Neither can respond as Napoleon's forces at last make their move across the English Channel and plant the eagle standard on British shores. But when Laurence's prison ship is sunk and he washes ashore near Dover, he begins a desperate search to rejoin his dragon partner. Meanwhile, Temeraire gathers the motley band of the breeding grounds around him and turns them into a resistance force, striking at the French as they press northward from London in pursuit of the royal family.