From 1939 to 1945, RCAF Squadron Leader Peter Freygood overcomes anti-Semitism, anti-colonialism, innumerable encounters with the enemy, and the normal problems associated with coming of age. Volume 1: The Pilot describes Peter's training first as a navigator and mechanic and only later as a pilot, his first encounters with the opposite sex, the initial raids on Germany, and the week his squadron provided 24-hour a day air cover during the escape of the Allied armies from Dunkirk.