The Mountain skyport is an oasis, the one place where airships from across the known world can thaw their engines before they finish their journey across the endless frozen wastes. Any nation would be happy to claim it, but none do. The Mountain is independent, and the people that live there are a family. To its friends, the Mountain offers warmth, smiles, and entertainment. To its enemies, it offers lightning— powerful storms that appear from nowhere and clear the skies of enemy ships.

Jiaire is a young man on the cusp of adulthood. By day, he works on the docks. By night, he dreams of the Show, when characters like Golden Sam, the Reptile, and the mysterious Count do battle under the big top for an audience of thousands. When an invading army arrives at the Mountain, Jiaire almost isn’t concerned. Until the storms fail to come. To find out why, and free his home from the invaders, Jiaire will have to penetrate the mysteries of the Mountain, and of his own heart.