Written in 1942, it recounts his role in the Armée de l'Air (French Air Force) as pilot of a reconnaissance plane during the Battle of France in 1940.

Within the first few days of the German invasion of France in May 1940, seventeen of the II/33 crews were sacrificed recklessly, he writes, "like glasses of water thrown onto a forest fire".

Saint-Exupéry survived the French defeat but refused to join the Royal Air Force over political differences with Charles de Gaulle, and in late 1940, went to New York where he accepted the National Book Award for Wind, Sand and Stars.

In July 1944, "risking flesh to prove good faith", he failed to return from a reconnaissance mission over France.

This work was adapted as a radio drama for American audiences by the NBC Red Network and broadcast on 7 October 1942 at the Author's Playhouse.