Three years after her fateful journeys through Vystrana, the widowed Mrs. Camherst defies convention to embark on an expedition to the savage, war-torn continent of Eriga, home of the legendary swamp-wyrms of the tropics. Accompanied żeby an old associate and a runaway heiress, Isabella must brave heat, fevers and palace intrigues to satisfy her boundless fascination with all things draconian.