When a Fair-Way Airlines flight explodes shortly after takeoff near the Springfield–Hartford airport, Johnny Dollar is pulled into a harrowing investigation that claims lives on the ground as well as in the air. The blast—nitroglycerin hidden inside the stewardess’s first-aid kit—points suspicion at a troubled ground crewman obsessed with stewardess Shirley Goodhue. But lie detectors, grief, and thin leads muddy the waters. As Johnny and State Police Captain Lenhart dig deeper, another horror surfaces: stewardess Alice Turner is found murdered. The truth snaps into focus—Alice had been smuggling narcotics for a racket run by Arthur Church and was trying to break free by meeting a federal agent that night. A last-minute shift put Shirley on the flight with Alice’s kit, sealing her fate and everyone else’s. An informant wracked with guilt leads Johnny to Church for the final confrontation, closing a case born of fear, coercion, and a deadly mix-up.