Why The Birds Sing (The Vertical Speed Chronicles) (Volume 1)

Orphaned at sixteen and assaulted at eighteen by a man whom she thought loved her, Vicki is searching for a life free from fear. Forced to leave her home, she ends up at a desert airport filled with old airplanes and fun-loving skydivers. When Vicki tries skydiving, she experiences a wonderful sense of peaceful solitude while she hangs under her parachute high above the desert. Ever fearful of another assault, she remains distant from the other jumpers and watches them from afar as laughter, love, danger, and the threat of sudden death punctuate their lives. Just when she begins to trust again, an unwelcome advance evokes a reaction from her that threatens her job and causes her to withdraw further into her solitary world. Then, after bailing out of a crippled airplane, she hangs under her parachute not knowing if the other jumpers from the airplane are alive or dead. She drifts slowly toward an unsure fate wondering if she will ever find happiness, friendship, and love again.