Aether gas: lighter than air, and more valuable than gold. It gives the mighty airships the ability to fly. Without it, the delicate balance between magic, technology, and nations would crumble. The pirate ship Serpent Queen doesn’t much care for the balance of nations, except when it affects her profit. So when Captain Adair is hired to smuggle a load of aether gas into Tribunal lands for a rebel group, the crew is happy to do it-as long as they get paid. It’s a bonus that most of them have been wronged by the Tribunal in the past and this may be a way to unbalance the tyrants.

In the war-torn skies of Trinity, the crew of the pirate airship Serpent Queen try to leave the past behind. But the past doesn't always stay dead, not even for the youngest crew member. Captain Adair's ten-year-old ward, Pint, may still be a child, but she's also a gifted weather mage and secretly the last heir to a noble family. Pint's gift sets her apart from ordinary children, and attracts unwanted attention when the Serpent Queen docks near her homeland for repairs. When she's kidnapped by a group of rebels, Pint has to keep her wits about her to survive the deadly game of the great houses that destroyed her family. Captain Adair races to find her before it's too late-only to discover his past has found him, as well.