Biplanes have been flying the mail in short hops all over the country—during daylight hours, when pilots can see where they’re going. But crashes are still too common, so lawmakers decide to cut funding for the U.S. Air Mail Service.

Outraged officials and pilots concoct a daring plan to save the service—a nonstop, coast-to-coast race—to prove that keeping mail in the air is the fastest way to move it across America.

But when a crash, exhaustion, and a snowstorm threaten the race, Jack Knight steps up. All he has to do is fly all night long. Through a blizzard. Over land he’s never covered. With a nearly empty fuel tank.

What could go wrong?