Magpie, an orphan, can hardly believe her eyes—a boy is lifted into the air by what looks like a kite… or maybe something more magical, something that dances in the wind.
Like her, the boy—Pierre—dreams of soaring above the rooftops of Paris. His family, the Montgolfiers, are obsessed with unlocking the secrets of flight.
From that moment high in the sky, everything changes for Magpie. She knows what she wants: to be the first person ever to fly in a balloon, right over the heads of the King and Queen of France…