The Airshipmen Trilogy, book one–From Ashes. The opening scenes of one of the most exciting periods in British history. Adapted from The Airshipmen.

After World War I, Lou Remington leaves the Marine Corps and joins the Navy to fly airships. He is sent to England to train with his crew to fly R38/ZR-2 back to New Jersey. After a terrible accident, he falls in love and settles down to a blissful life in rural Yorkshire. But the British come knocking at his door with offers for him to assist in building the safest and mightiest airships the world has ever seen. Accepting the position could lead to a spectacular career with infinite rewards—or maybe cost him his life.

The British Airship Program is a morass of infighting and political intrigue. Two teams are pitted against each other, each to design and build their own massive airship, modeled as ocean liners of the sky—one will fly to Canada, the other to India. By design, only one team will survive this deadly competition. 

As an outsider and seconded liaison officer between the two teams, Lou Remington’s mission is simple: keep the peace between the warring parties and help prevent another national tragedy. But it is the misguided passions of the charismatic Lord Thomson, which have more to do with a certain Romanian princess than with aviation, which threaten Lou’s goals and forever change the lives of all involved, foreshadowing the demise of the British Empire.