Gerald Davies, the eponymous hero of the book has a difficult childhood. His mother, suffering from epilepsy, is forced into an asylum by his father who has taken up with a woman half his age. Unknown to Gerald, the person he knows as his aunt is his real mother. It's 1936 and to escape, Gerald walks the short distance to the local RAF base and joins up. He trains to be a pilot observer and is eventually attached to 211 Blenheim Bomber Squadron...