China, 1900.
Following the Opium Wars, China is being carved up into pieces by foreign occupation and an Empress Dowager with dreams of resurrecting her crippled nation and bringing it into the new century sits on the throne. For now...
English apothecary and thaumaturgist, Vivian Harper and her fiancé, Nathaniel Valentine; have been tasked with an impossible mission: travel to China and recover an ancient weapon before it is lost to war and ruin. The catch? It is buried with the bones of a long-dead dragon and the key to her grave is hidden in abandoned temples guarded by demons that attack not the flesh, but the virtues of men's souls.
But they are not the only ones seeking the weapon. The deposed prince seeks revenge against his mother who will not relinquish the throne. He seeks powerful allies and utilizes unholy improvements of mechanics and flesh to reclaim his empire by force.
China, a land of mystery, danger, and ancient supernatural forces, the likes of which may be more than Vivian and Nate can handle as they seek a treasure that may be the doom of all mankind.
The sequel to Canithrope and the second book in the Arcane Adventuress series; a better life is waiting for those brave enough to go searching for it.