CHUNGKING AUGUST 1944

Thepilot, flight lieutenant Joe Caine of RAF Transport Command, was tired, frozen to the bone, his hands clamped to the control column. He eased it forward and took the plane down, emerging from low cloud at three thousand feet into driving rain.

The aircraft ploughing its way through heavy cloud and thunderstorm was a Douglas DC3, the famous Dakota, as much a workhorse for the American Air Force as the RAF, who together operated them out of the Assam Airfields of North India, flying supplies to Chiang Kai-shek's Chinese army. On their way, they negotiated the infamous Hump, as it was known to Allied aircrews, the Himalayan mountains, trying to survive in some of the worst flying conditions in the world.

"There she is, Skipper," the second pilot said. "Dead ahead. Three miles."

"And the usual lousy blackout," Caine said, which was true enough. The inhabitants of Chungking were notoriously lazy in that respect and there were lights all over the place.

"Well, here we go," he said.

"Message from control tower," the wireless operator called from behind.

Caine switched on to VHF and called the tower. "Sugar Nan here. Is there a problem?"

"Priority traffic coming in. Please go round," a neutral voice said.

"For God's sake," Caine replied angrily, "I've just clocked 1,000 miles over the Hump. We're tired, cold, and almost out of fuel."

"VIP traffic to starboard and below you. Go 'round. Please acknowledge." The voice was firm.

The second pilot looked out of the side, then turned. "About five hundred feet below, Skipper. Another Dakota. A Yank from the look of it."

"All right," Caine said wearily and banked to port.

The man who stood on the porch of the Station Commander's office staring up into the rain, listening to the sound of the first Dakota coming in, wore the uniform of a Vice-Admiral of the British Navy, a trenchcoat over his shoulders. His name was Lord Louis Mountbatten and he was cousin to the King of England. A highly decorated war hero, he was also Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia.