Lockheed´s F-104G, a brand-new sleek jet design of the early 1950s, was a dream bird with a flying performance well beyond imagination. Despite its widow maker reputation in Germany during the early years of operation, the F-104 gained cult status and pilots became addicted to flying it.

In his book, Rolf Stünkel takes us back to his training days and cold-war flights over the Baltic sea and along the East German border - a gripping, thought-provoking journey through time, not without a self-critical look at the past and present.