This historical novel covers the roughly seven months of combat between the group of American volunteer pilots known as the AVG (All Volunteer Group) and the Empire of Japan during the early phases of World War II. Plot: The story follows two fictional pilots, Lt. Stewart "Stu" Langer and his best friend, Lt. Richard "Dutch" Schultz, as they decide to resign their commissions with the US Navy in order to fly as mercenaries with the Chinese Air Force against the Japanese Air Force over the skies of Burma and China. While Stu and Dutch are fictional, they are composites of several real pilots who flew with the AVG in Southeast Asia. Many of the other characters in the story are actual people who flew or supported the AVG during this time.