December 1942. The United States Army Air Forces has just opened its ranks to women pilots for the first time in history. Mary Mason and her fellow pilot Sparky Ames join the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron, stepping into cockpits where no woman has flown before. When a routine delivery flight over the Brazilian jungle turns catastrophic, one plane crippled, the other following blindly through storm clouds, their training becomes their only lifeline. As they battle mechanical failure and the ever-present threat of enemy action, the women must deliver their cargo of crucial military supplies while surviving the untamed wilderness below. The jungle holds dangers both natural and sinister, and every hour spent waiting for rescue tightens the noose around them. Written in 1943 while the war still raged, this novel captures a extraordinary moment when women proved they belonged in the sky, their skill their only credential and their nerve their greatest weapon.
