Cait's husband died in a railroad accident when the iron bridge over the river Tay collapsed (5). Later, Jamie will describe the Eiffel tower as "the tallest tower in the world...three hundred meters high...made of iron, nothing else but iron, like a bridge" (32). How does the novel explore the tensions between art/architecture and engineering and how we use both to conquer time and master space? What role do these tensions and affinities play in the attraction Cait and Emile immediately feel towards one another when they meet on the balloon ride?