A lake at the borders of three countries, Prespa, suddenly finds itself in the spotlight when it is revealed that a dragon inhabits it. The monster becomes the apple of discord among the three countries, which establish research communities on its shores and compete in theories and findings. Each shore - southern, eastern, and western - lives its own dracological dream and nightmare.

"Valley of Mud" is the name of the southern shore, because it rains incessantly there, forcing the researchers to live in the mud. Cunning or dreamers, opportunists or idealists, they study the lake's enigma for twenty years without ever solving it. Unexplained natural phenomena, violent crimes, and mysterious visitors test the endurance of dracological theories and the characters of the protagonists, while on the sidelines of the action, an Alchemist and his assistant experiment in creating the elixir of self-awareness.

Economies collapse, villages become deserted, peoples clash, but the dragon - mythical monster, collective imagination, or product of an alchemical laboratory? - is the only one that seems not to be threatened...