The Hour of the Dragon unfolds as a primal clash against the forces of malevolence. The very title hints at a foreboding Hyborian prophecy, one that predicts their era will give way to a shadowy time of ruin and chaos, ominously known as the Hour of the Dragon. Adorning the banners of the encroaching Nemedians is a crimson dragon, a harbinger that whispers of their potential to usher this dreaded hour upon Aquilonia.

Within the narrative, the world teeters on the brink of being swallowed by absolute darkness, and it is only through the cleverness and bravery of imperfect beings that this doom might be averted.

At the heart of this epic conflict lies a labyrinth of trickery, masks, and misdirection. From the novel's very first pages, characters masquerade, cloaking their true natures with elaborate facades. Amalric, lurking in the shadows, seeks to control Nemedia and Aquilonia through figureheads, manipulating the strings of power from behind a curtain of royalty. Meanwhile, Xaltotun deludes himself into believing he is a resurrected man, only to be unmasked at the story's climax as nothing more than a reanimated shell.

The forces of virtue are not immune to cunning and disguise. To elude capture following his foes' triumph, Conan adopts the guise of a solemn mourner, escorting the remains of an Asura devotee downstream for sacred rites. Deception becomes his ally once more as he sets a trap for his adversaries, culminating in a decisive confrontation. Intriguingly, the greatest deception is self-inflicted, as the antagonists ensnare themselves in webs of their own making.

Valerius, ensnared by his own paranoia, imagines a never-ending series of plots against him. He and his fellow plotters naïvely dream of harnessing the power of the formidable sorcerer Xaltotun, only to find themselves outwitted. Even Xaltotun is not immune to self-deception; he believes himself not just alive but unbeatable. His overconfidence blinds him to the sabotage of his spells in the novel's conclusion; so assured is he of his dominance, he neglects to safeguard the Heart of Ahriman, unaware of the treachery lurking within his own ranks.