Little else in life is as dangerous as fire jumping. Flying past towering pillars of smoke, parachuting down to the edge of an all-consuming blaze, shoveling and sawing for hours upon hours, days at a time, all to hold the line and push back against the raw power of Mother Nature. But there�s also little else as thrilling � at least to Rowan Tripp. The Missoula smoke jumpers are one of the most exclusive firefighting squads in the nation, and the job is in Rowan�s blood: her father is a legend in the field. She�s been fighting fires since her eighteenth birthday. At this point, returning to the wilds of Montana for the season feels like coming home � even with reminders of the partner she lost last season still lingering in the air. Fortunately, this year�s rookie crop is among the strongest ever � and Gulliver Curry�s one of the best. He�s also a walking contradiction, a hotshot firefighter with a big vocabulary and a winter job at a kids� arcade. He came to Missoula to follow in the footsteps of Lucas �Iron Man� Tripp, yet he�s instantly more fascinated by his hero�s daughter. Rowan, as a rule, doesn�t hook up with other smoke jumpers, but Gull is convinced he can change her mind. And damn if he doesn�t make a good case to be an exception to the rule. Everything is thrown off balance, though, when a dark presence lashes out against Rowan, looking to blame someone for last year�s tragedy. Rowan knows she can�t complicate things with Gull � any distractions in the air or on the ground could be lethal. But if she doesn�t find someone she can lean on when the heat gets intense, her life may go down in flames.