 Ensign Alan Drake is assigned to the elite "Hell Cat" squadron of Navy fliers based in San Diego, despite being relatively inexperienced. Getting off on bad footing by ruining the squadron s chances of winning a target-shooting competition, Drake is encouraged by Jerry Banning, an officer whose sister Lorna is the wife of the squadron commander, William Gray. Drake and Banning work on a device to help aircraft land in the fog, but when Banning is killed testing it and Drake appears to be getting romantically entangled with Lorna, the men of the squadron turn on Drake. Only when Commander Gray himself is in jeopardy does Drake get a chance to show his fellow fliers what kind of man he really is.