Since the age of eleven, Miss Celia Frost has longed to be like her father, the famous founder of the United Dirigible Air Force and advocate for women’s rights. For twenty years, Lord Cáirmeath and his crew battled small bands of air pirates who ravaged the French countryside with death and destruction. Upon her father's untimely death, Celia immediately signs up to join the military ranks against her mother’s wishes and discovers the secrets of her parents' past.

As the battles move North through England, Wales and Ireland, an entire fleet of dirigibles and mechanical wolfhounds threaten the lives of her friends and family. Assigned to the first officer training program designed for women since the founding of the air force, Celia discovers more than what she's bargained for.

Francis Meriwether—her childhood friend, is the captain of the Maiden of Lightning, a new dirigible with the most diverse crew in the fleet. Held to higher standards as the founder’s daughter, Celia is stationed aboard the vessel, where she struggles to find her place among the ranks and her new captain.

Now, Zylphia Coalsteam, the pirate queen and notorious leader of the Order of the Scarlet Monarch has declared war with the U.D.A.F. Torn between duty, love, and the desire to avenge a death, Celia embarks on a journey, unlike anything she has ever known. Will she and her crew have what it takes to challenge Zylphia and save their homeland?