An affecting tale about a young man with an insatiable desire to succeed. Lieutenant Jack Knight, a hotshot pilot from West Texas, assigned to the Air Corps' 35th Fighter Group, is about to shake up the South Pacific. Engaging in violent dogfights with merciless Japanese airmen in the air, and vicious clashes with begrudging squadron mates on the ground, he methodically guns down the opposition and sets his sights on becoming the highest scoring ace of the war. Joining the demoralized 39th Squadron during the desperate summer of 1942, he easily adapts to daily dogfights of death above the jungles of New Guinea. Sustained by alcohol, memories of a new love, and the uncanny ability to detach himself from a desperate soul-sapping environment, he keeps his conscience and his squadron mates at a distance. Flying obsolete P-39's and P-40's against the seemingly invincible A6M2 Zero, the U.S. Army Air Corps had to gain control of the skies over Port Moresby. No losses were too heavy, no dogfight too unequal, no plane too damaged. At any cost, the Japanese Air Force had to be stopped. This was the sole intent of Lieutenant Jack Knight, an immortal gun-slinging daredevil of no equal. And once armed with the "Lightning," a sleek, twin-engined fighter with unbeatable firepower and speed, he knew the Japs would have their day in Hell