It was just before Christmas, 1940. The war is raging in Europe when Kate Jamison makes her debut in New York City. In a room filled with the scions of East Coast soicety, it is Joe Allbright who catches Kate's eye. At twentry-nine, Joe is already a legend in flying once awkward and larger-than-life. Joe, too, is caught off balance, seeing in Kate the soulmate he caught expected to find. As the months pass, they will meet again, forging a bond that will set the course of both their lives. Kate will study at Radcliffe. Joe will sky-rocker to fame in aviation. Joe's planes are his life, his passion. But he always comes back to Kate. Even after the long, dark years of World War II, Joe returns. Never willing to stay, always needing to fly away.