On the aethership's maiden voyage, Seraphin and the Knights of Aether had prepared for everything--except treason. The villainous chamberlain wants to overthrow King Ludwig and claim the electro-aetheric technology for Prussia. The only escape for the king and his companions lies in the frosty skies above Bavaria. The ship's first flight is a success, but their respite is short-lived. As long as the chamberlain is free to spread his lies, these travelers...

"At the height of the Second World War in England, Nina Woodrow joins the Royal Air Force and rebels against her careful upbringing by embarking on an illicit affair with an officer. She risks losing everything for Guy Nicholson: her comfortable home, her childhood friends, and, especially, the love of her father, an enigmatic widower. Meanwhile, in the sleepy village where Nina grew up, where the upheavals of war seem far away and divorce remains...

A year after his mother disappeared in her hot air balloon, Seraphin and his father receive a clue that sends them to a Bavarian castle where lurks a force that would stop at nothing to conquer the stars.