Cassandra Bainbridge may be a bit of a bluestocking, but when Geoffrey Giles is near, love seems a fine alternative to passion for Greek and the physics of flight. With his dashing good looks and undying devotion to her, the earl of Whittaker sets Cassandra’s heart racing with his very presence. It seems his only flaw is his distaste for ballooning, the obsession that consumes so much of her thoughts.

When a terrible accident compels her to end her betrothal, Cassandra heads for the country to recover from both her injuries and her broken heart. With time on her hands and good friends to help her, she pursues her love for ballooning and envisions a future for herself as a daring aeronaut. But when Lord Whittaker slips back into her life, will she have to choose between him and her dream?

2. Cassandra thinks God is punishing her for her misbehavior with her fiancé. How does her thinking coordinate with the Bible’s teachings?

3. How could Cassandra have better managed her guilt?

4. At what times in your life have you had physical or emotional scars you believed made you unlovable, perhaps even to the Lord, as does Cassandra? What helped you get through such a time?

5. Which character do you believe behaves in the most reprehensible manner during the story—Cassandra’s father, Whittaker, the Luddites, someone else? Why do you think so?

6. Can you step into these character’s shoes and see the world from their perspective? Are they still in the wrong? Why or why not?

7. In what way could Whittaker have better handled his objection to Cassandra’s desire to fly in a balloon? What did he do right?

8. In what way could Cassandra have better managed the conflict between her desire to fly and Whittaker’s objections? What did she do right?

9. How did you manage any situation in your life when you longed to perform a feat, take a job, pursue a career, or do something else to which others objected? How did you reconcile it with being a loving wife, mother, child, friend, sibling, etc.?

10. Who do you think is truly responsible for the tragic consequences in this story?