First published 2023
Christmas Eve 1957. RAF pilot faces one final flight before leave: sixty-six minutes from Germany to Lakenheath in his Vampire fighter. The route is routine, the fuel tank full. Then fog rolls in. His compass spins wildly. The radio cuts to static, then silence. He flies blind through black sky, fuel running low, England nowhere in sight. Death seems certain when another aircraft appears from the darkness. A vintage fighter-bomber signals him to follow. The pilot obeys, grateful for salvation. But his mysterious guide raises questions that have no easy answers. Who flies a wartime bomber in 1957? How did the pilot find him in zero visibility? The rescue becomes something else entirely as the truth emerges about his unlikely savior.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure, mystery, thriller, aviation
Vibes: atmospheric, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: mystery, rescue
Setting: Germany, England, Lakenheath
Period: 1957
Paperback · Penguin