For a dragon found guilty of murdering a human, the penalty is always death.

When Diane Fossey took the Saurian Specialist job at the Clatsop County BNT, she knew she’d been called in because Clatsop’s newest dragon resident, a red female named Ignis, was a headache to deal with. She expected a battle over land-usage rights and unfiled paperwork.

She wasn’t prepared for the call from the Seaside PD, stating that a body had been found in a clearcut, and that signs pointed to death by dragon fire. A clearcut that Ignis often used as a hunting ground.

Diane’s gut says Ignis is innocent. But it takes a flame as hot as dragon fire to burn a body down to bone fragments, especially outside in rainy weather. And that’s a fact no court of law will overlook.

Diane’s got to prove Ignis’ innocence and find the real killer fast. Because if Ignis is convicted, the Accords state that she must be executed immediately.

And the real killer is guilty of far more than murder.