Professor Sean Carlyle doesn't have time for distractions. The head of Oxford's Department of Technological Innovation must focus on his ingenious new airship if it's to be finished in time for a race against the French. His pilot has been called away to war, and the powers that be have replaced him with an American aeronaut. Smug, captivating Nicholas Winters likes to get his hands greasy, no matter how Sean wishes he'd leave the machine work be.Nick is as handy with a spanner as he is with a kiss, and as the competition draws closer so do they. But the French aeronauts, led by Sean's former lover and mentor, arrive with a new airship meant to humble the British. With the pride of the nation and Sean's own reputation at stake, Nick might not be able to keep the inventor from sabotaging what they have in order to win.