Vanessa March, two years married and very much in love, is propelled from London to Vienna by a shocking discovery. In her charge is young Timothy Lacy, who also has an urgent problem to solve. But what promised to be no more than a delicate personal mission turns out to involve the security forces of three countries, two dead men, a circus and its highly colored personnel, a mysterious Mr. Lee Elliott and--among others--the famous white stallions of Vienna.
The 'airs above the ground' are the beautiful leaps and dancing steps made by the white Lipizzaner stallions of the Spanish Riding School. They are also the peak points of the story, which happen literally in high places: a terrifying night on the rooftop of Schloss Zechstein; a high-wire act in the Circus Wagner; the fighting finish at the head of the rack railway in the Gleinalp.