Katlin Graham is on a cross-country move with her father and brother. Leaving their home (and their comatose mother) behind, the destitute family must make it to California within a few days in order for her father to land a job. While staying in the Midwest, the family goes on a tour of the Molly Kathleen, an old mine that has long been out of use. Ever adventurous, Kat literally stumbles upon a closed section of the mine, and in an Alice in Wonderland kind of adventure, falls to the deepest bottom of the mine. She searches for her way out and finds a real live dragon lurking in the depths. To top it off, he�s surrounded by Kat�s biggest obsession, gold. Kat forms a close, albeit short bond with the dragon, whose name is Ye, in which Kat learns that he is the last of all the dragons. Ye helps Kat escape the mine, a nugget of gold tucked into her jacket. What unleashes next is nothing that Kat could ever dream. The media goes wild with her story, especially when she lets it slip that the gold belongs to the dragon living in the mine, and people flock to the Molly Kathleen, trying to claim the gold for themselves. Kat has to find a way to avoid the frenzied gold explorers, get back in the mine, and somehow try to save Ye the dragon from being discovered.

This book was difficult for me to get into. The writing is choppy and while Howell uses great descriptive language, I feel that younger readers would get confused and bogged down by some of the colloquial sayings. I think the chapters (or sections) of the book should be broken up into smaller sections. There's always that feeling of accomplishment when a child finishes a whole chapter and I think a reader may get frustrated with how long the sections are. Kat's interaction with the dragon is featured at the beginning and end of the book but not the middle and I think the story drags a little because of this. Howell's characterization of Kat is fantastic. She is unique and her love for gold is hilarious (she even has a gold tooth). The story is interesting and deals with some tough issues (having an invalid parent, the nature of greed and how it affects people) that will make readers think. Overall, the book was an interesting read but I'm not sure it'll keep the attention of younger readers.