Anderson and his wife, Caroline (who is having an affair with Anderson's best friend, Herbert) take an airship trip, during which there is an accident and Caroline is lost. Upon his return to the Floating City, Anderson must face legal proceedings and questions - there are suspicions that he did not do all he could to ensure Caroline's safety, particularly in light of her sizeable estate. Herbert does what he can to help Anderson move forward, which includes taking him to meet an eccentric pair of scientists who synthesize a hallucinogenic drug from a certain breed of frog. During the trip, Anderson meets Simone, who becomes the love of his life. However, all is not as it seems and before long, Anderson loses everything and learns that those he thought he knew had much darker motives than he could ever imagine.