A first entry in a planned duology is set in an alternate-history 1893 America, where a brewing war and the World's Fair in St. Cloud complicate a supernaturally gifted young woman's escape from her domineering father.

In the late nineteenth century, when Conor Broekhart discovers a conspiracy to overthrow the king, he is branded a traitor, imprisoned, and forced to mine for diamonds under brutal conditions while he plans a daring escape from Little Saltee prison by way of a flying machine that he must design, build, and, hardest of all, trust to carry him to safety.