On September 6, 1943, three hundred and thirtyeight B-17 "Flying Fortresses" of the American Eighth Air Force took off from England, bound for Stuttgart, Germany, to bomb Nazi weapons factories.

Dense clouds obscured the targets, and one commander's critical decision to circle three times through heavy fire would prove disastrous. Forty-five planes went down that day, and hundreds of men were lost or missing.

Sharing the first-person accounts of six of the B-17 airmen, award- winning author Robert J. Mrazek vividly re-creates the fierce air battle-and reveals the astonishing valor of the airmen who survived being shot down, and the tragic fate of those who did not.