High overhead, a dragon flies on coppery wings, raining down fire and destruction on all that lies below. The last of the great beasts, it wreaks havoc everywhere it flies, burning the countryside and its terrified inhabitants to grey ash and cinders with its fiery breath. Desperate and frightened, the people pray for a hero to save them.
Jude is no hero. Deeply traumatized after returning to find his village a charred ruin and his family dead, he is picked up by a travelling fair, where he rescues the strange yet beautiful Jing-wei from a life as a caged freak. Eluding their pursuers, Jude and Jing-wei meet Lan, a wise old Chinese woman who straightens Jing-wei's bound and crippled feet, and reveals to Jude his destiny. He alone must kill the last dragon.
