1927. Flight fever is running rampant and daring flyers are all anyone can talk about. And now the Honourable Miss Elsie Mackay, glamorous former film star and regular name in gossip columns, has a new ambition - to be the first woman to fly the Atlantic. Stella Campbell was once at the heart of world events. Working at the Paris Peace Conference, she helped forge peace across Europe. Now a decade on, post-war hopes are frayed, and marriage and motherhood have worn away Stella's sense of self until she's not sure what remains. In recent years, Stella's sister Corran has been wrapped up in her books and academic career, determinedly single - or so it seems. But when carefully guarded secrets start to emerge, will she be able to step beyond the constraints of her sex?