This is the ninth (and final) book in the Temeraire series, which is an alternate history series combining the Napoleonic Wars with dragons. Yes, that may sound odd -- it did to me when I picked up the first book in the series to read with a book group. However, I found myself enjoying the book, and then went on to read the rest in the series. Novik has a strong background in history, and combined with her skilled storytelling, the books totally make sense. What I mean is, it's easy to imagine this kind of setting, where the forces have dragons to aid in fighting.
In this last novel in the series, we're at the end of Napoleon's campaign in Russia. Napoleon has been denied a victory, but at the price of many lives (both human and dragon). Laurence and Temeraire pursue the fleeing French army, only to determine that not only has Napoleon made it back to Paris unscathed, but that the French have stolen Temerarie and Iskierka's egg.
So, reading my summary, I can see where it wouldn't make a lot of sense. This is definitely a series where you need to begin with the first book, because not only are things explained, but this is a series which has a definite timeline. You finish one book and the next one begins pretty close in time to where the previous book left off. So, if this kind of a story sounds interesting, I would suggest beginning with the first book, His Majesty's Dragon.
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