Convicted of treason despite their heroic defense against Napoleon's invasion of England, Temeraire and Capt. Will Laurence have been transported to a prison colony in distant Australia--and into a hornet's nest of fresh complications. The colony is in turmoil after the overthrow of military governor William Bligh--aka Captain Bligh, late of HMS Bounty . And when Bligh tries to enlist them in his bid to regain office, the dragon and his captain are caught in the middle of a political power struggle. Their only chance to escape the fray is accepting a mission to blaze a route through the forbidding Blue Mountains and into the interior of Australia. But the theft of a precious dragon egg turns their expedition into a desperate recovery operation--leading to a shocking discovery and a dangerous new complication in the global war between Britain and Napoleon. BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Naomi Novik's Crucible of Gold .