At the height of  World War II, women flew daily missions for various air forces throughout Britain and the United States. Our main character, Emily Priestman, is a devoted wife and member of the Air Transport Auxiliary. As the story opens, Emily finds herself in the limbo that comes from having her husband listed as MIA. Eye witness accounts claim that her husband could not have survived his crash in enemy territory. And so, Emily must begin to put her life back in order and she uses flying to do so. Soon, brash bombardier, J.B. Baronowsky, an American, and his crew come onto the scene. In a near collision in the air, the two meet and nothing is the same again.

J.B. courts Emily as he realizes that she can understand him. The fiancee that he left back in Michigan has no concept of what it is like to fly mission after mission into France and other German-held countries. She has no idea what it is like to hear his crew members scream in pain as flak rips into the fuselage. He cares little for the demands of planning a wedding and soon breaks it off – the better to pursue Emily. J.B.’s rough attempts at courtship slowly bring emotions back to a numb Emily, reminding her what it is to be loved and wanted by a man. As she begins to open her heart, a single telegram destroys all that she has rebuilt.

I started this book with a great deal of excitement. The title enthralled me. The research is impeccable and the descriptions of combat missions remind me of the stories my grandfather and his friends would tell of the War. Unfortunately, I found the main characters a bit flat. This was helped by the menagerie of secondary characters whom I  thoroughly enjoyed (and being from Kentucky, the Kentucky Kid made me grin). It was hard to keep the scenes straight as we flashed from one airfield and set of characters to another. Most distressing, however, was the sudden jump to the sixties and the ending in that era.

The history was fascinating and I intend to begin researching the ATA and the other branches where women flew missions for the military. This is something I never learned in history class and it is a story that needed to be told. But while the history kept me at the edge of my seat, I wish that it had not gotten in the way of the characters.