A broken leg might be seen as a setback for some, but when Lapiutalnice is given leave from the imperial army due to his injury, he sees it as nothing but an opportunity! Escaping his duties at the frontier fort that protects the western elvish empire of Failatgie from the orcs out on the steppe, the young elf man can pursue his actual obsession: creating a machine that can fly. A challenge to be sure, one the elves of the empire have already dubbed impossible, but with his wife Nulaidutice's twenty years of engineering education, he is willing to take on the impossible. The nonsense is more rewarding than guarding the border in a war that their opponent forgot they were fighting, at least, even if it never flies. Yet as more progress is made on Lapiutalnice's machine, and the more promising it looks, the more others begin to pay attention. With Lapiutalnice's dream has lurked a nightmare from the beginning, making the elf man wonder if success will simply push him further into the life he is trying to escape by reaching for the clouds.

If he wants to achieve his dreams, then he is going to have to fly against the wind!