Following the significance of wings through history, art and literature, this book explores the butterfly's roles in the writings of Pliny, the poetry of Shelley and the works of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, amongst others. The author follows the commercial routes of the silkworm in Japan and tells war stories of the message-bearing doves in ancient Greece and Rome. On a more personal level, the book is interwoven with her feelings for her own home, gardens, children and animals. Dame Miriam Rothschild is an eminent zoologist and campaigner for such issues as wild-flower preservation. She has also written a biography of her uncle, Dear Lord Rothschild.