Jonathan lives in “Little England”, a district of Moulmein in Burma home to more than 50,000 English nationals. One day, he meets an American pilot who has fallen in love with a beautiful singer called Ruby. He asks Jonathan to pass her messages, and in exchange, agrees to take the little boy up in his plane. But the fun comes to an abrupt end when the aircraft is hit by a burst of enemy fire from Burmese rebels, who are paving the way for a Japanese invasion.