Hell's Angel

Dan Marcosson is a gifted pilot haunted by a violent temper, a brutal childhood, and a fear of the tropical heat that seems to magnify every flaw in him. Born in Africa, cast out young, and hardened by years of hard labor across the United States, he finds his one true calling in flight and rises to distinction as a military airman in World War I. But even his combat record cannot conceal the scars, bitterness, and instability that follow him to the Philippines, where a new assignment at a punishingly hot outpost begins to unravel him. As the narrator watches Marcosson deteriorate under the pressure of disease, isolation, drinking, and suspicion, the airfield becomes a crucible of fear and resentment. Lieutenant Sock Casey is drawn into the crisis, revealing both Marcosson's cruelty and the tragic guilt that shadows him. When the two men finally take off together, the conflict reaches its breaking point in a violent midair collision and a desperate struggle for survival. In the end, Marcosson's final act is one of sacrifice: he saves Sock, then chooses death in the jungle rather than return in disgrace. The story becomes a stark meditation on courage, shame, and redemption under the relentless weight of heat and fate. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.