By 1911, the idea of manned flight had captured the nation’s imagination. Aviation had leapt forward from the Wrights’ secret 1903 Kitty Hawk experiment, to a burgeoning, wide-open field of discovery. In the intervening eight years, the field of aviation had filled with risky high-altitude acrobatics, daring international contests for unbelievable prizes, mysterious applications in military defense, and far-reaching science for the benefit of mankind.

Seventeen-year-old Nicholas Fowler dreams of becoming an aviator, but his labors on the family farm offer no path that can lead him to achieve this dream. A wholly unexpected opportunity suddenly presents itself, and, without a second thought, he reaches for it. In doing so, the world he’s always known begins to unravel. He gambles his family’s well-being, the safety and security of the farm, and his very life and future on his one shot at aviation.

By Susan A. Starr