It is a time of revolts and revolutions, conflict and intrigue.
New Crobuzon is being ripped apart from without and within. War with the shadowy city-state of Tesh and rioting on the streets at home are pushing the teeming metropolis to the brink. In the midst of this turmoil, a mysterious masked figure spurs strange rebellion, while treachery and violence incubate in unexpected places. In desperation, a small group of renegades escapes from the city ans crosses strange and alien continents in the search for a lost hope, an undying legend.
In the blood and violence of New Crobuzon's most dangerous hour, there are whispers... It is the time of the Iron Council.