It is 1917, and some of the pilots of Hornet Squadron are beginning to believe that the war on the Western Front will last for decades. For Woolley and the others there are only two things which can take their minds off the tedious brutality of war: the nurses, and a potent brew invented by the C.O. called 'Hornet's Sting'. But as the big summer offensives of 1917 begin, not even these can provide any comfort.