November 1942: Japanese and American forces have been fighting for control of Guadalcanal, a small but pivotal island in Japan's expansion through the South Pacific. Both sides have endured months of grueling battle under the worst circumstances, and amid a seeming stalemate, a small group of U.S. Navy dive bombers known as the Cactus Air Force are called upon to help determine the island's fate. In this gripping account, the author of Rain of Steel reveals how command of the South Pacific, and the outcome of the Pacific War, depended on control of a single dirt airstrip—and the small group of battle-weary aviators sent to protect it with their lives.