Caught in the furor of newly discovered sources of telumium in the Arabian Penisula, Daphne's archaeologist parents have been kidnapped by a ruthless warlord. Teluminum is a primary component in the creation of the mechanical human hybrids of supermen called Man O' Wars, essential for building a fleet of airships enabling a country to keep supremacy in war-torn Europe. The British embassy, putting their own political and financial needs above two minor citizens have refused outright to become involved which leaves Daphne little option but to enter the underworld of criminals and outcasts and seek a man rumored to take on any task, for the right price. Captain Mikhail Mikhailovich Denisov, rogue Man O' War has lost everything he once valued, replacing it with greed and one purpose, to keep his motley crew alive long enough to collect their next plunder, and perhaps, if fate is kind, a chance to wreak vengeance on the man who betrayed him. He will gladly take this pretty, freckled professorsha's money even if her fool's errand has little chance of success. With his leather and steel, his mohawk and virile Russian character Denisov is a marvelous hero, sexy, daring yet with a vulnerable streak of regret and chivalry. Daphne is a woman of layers and secrets. A passionate observer of human nature, her scholastic fascination with a man who chooses to become part machine is tempered by her body's reaction to the man himself. Zoë Archer packs SKIES OF STEEL with everything a steampunk fan could wish and a romance reader craves. She and partner Nico Rosso have built the Ether Chronicles series, unconnected stories set in the same steampunk universe together, each writing two books. SKIES OF STEEL is the third in the series, the second written by Archer.

My favorite quote from the book? "But, damn, she didn't kiss him like a high-minded woman."