Charlie Holt is a brilliant pilot of the 'Blimp' - the First World War airship used for reconnaissance - scouring the English seas for U-boats. But in Flight to Mons, he travels beyond the Channel to France, on a daring escape mission that is as important as it is dangerous.
Seduced by the charms of alcohol and the feisty and attractive Hilde, a German officer has unwittingly let slip vital information about his country's forthcoming military plans. What he has disclosed to Hilde could save the war and one million lives, which is why Britain have sent Holt and marine Maclachan to France - to fly both Hilde and her invalid mother to safety.
But what Holt doesn't know about is Hilde's involvement in Brussels two years earlier, and her association with the notorious nurse Cavell. Cavell was executed for helping British and French soldiers escape the clutches of the Germans, and though Hilde denied playing a part, the officer who questioned her - the unpleasant German officer Koch - is determined not to take no for an answer.