This is the story of the Allied air campaign across Singapore, Malaya, Burma, Ceylon and the Philippines during World War II. It documents the Allied underestimation of Japanese ability, which led to the destruction of 50% of the British bomber force in two days.

The activities of the RAF and USAAF during the desperate fighting in south-east Asia in the years 1942 to 1944 are fully recounted in this text, culminating in the victories at Imphal and Kohima.