This story is about two officers and their contribution to the air force. Major Patrick S. McLanahan is a bombardier assigned to a newly modified B-52 bomber, chuck full with the latest state of the art equipment and weapons. They are flying out of a secluded base on Diego Garcia, a group of islands in the Indian Ocean off the coast of India. During an unauthorized mission in the Gulf of Oman, they were intercepted by an unidentified warplane and bluffed their way out of a deadly confrontation.
The other officer is Colonel Norman Weir, an accountant by trade, but also a dedicated officer with an inbred prejudice toward pilots and aircrews (I think this strange for someone in the air force), but it takes all kinds to complete an organization. Normally these two officers would probably never cross paths, but for a twist of fate.