It's a classic Derek Robinson story: three groups of men converge for a final battle in the western desert during World War II. An SAS patrol travels through the Sahara to attack a German airbase; a German intelligence officer sets out to settle a personal grudge; and the men from Hornet Squadron (from Robinson's earlier Piece of Cake) are overhead, committed to suicidal ground-attack missions to satisfy their commander. Fast-talking, darkly humorous, and stinging.