Tsen Su Montgomery is the beautiful daughter of an English Army officer and a tribal Burmese woman named Rami. The girl takes over her mother's duties of spying on Japanese activities after Rami was exposed and killed by a Japanese officer. Her code name of 'The Dragon Lady' stirs much interest among American GIs who had read the comic strip of 'Terry and The Pirates' in which the story's leading lady bore the same name. When her ancient Japanese radio equipment begins to break down, Silas Buckskin, an officer in the 490th Bomb Squadron, parachutes behind Japanese lines to help the Dragon Lady perform her duties. Silas learns she is the respected leader of a small band of gorilla warriors. Together they fight off several Japanese incursions and become close friends. Sam, an Infantry mule, plays jokes on his muleskinner and Ian Campbell, an eccentric Scotsman who lives in Burma, also lends humor to the story. Accounts of 490th bombing missions, on targets in and around the city of Myitkyina, depict results below and above the city and gives insight into how the natives think and reacted to the war.