Danny Devaney leads a charmed, Walter Mitty-like existence at Mildenhoe in the Cambridge Fens, where he is skipper of a Wellington Bomber. His days as pianist with Hernando at the Casa Dorada have ensured his popularity.

Three very different women enter Devaney's world; two of them know far too much about his past and disaster looms large. Devaney's parents and adored young sister have been wiped out in one of Birmingham's worst air raids, his loyal crew are set to discover his duplicity and, finally, the captivating melody he penned for Dixie Slane in 1939 returns to haunt him.