In this gripping novel, Saint-Exupéry tells about the brave men who piloted night mail planes from Patagonia, Chile, and Paraguay to Argentina in the early days of commercial aviation.

The narrative is enriched by a preface by André Gide and translated by Stuart Gilbert. No writer has equaled Saint-Exupéry in describing the perilous and poetic experience of flying, in submission to what he calls “those damn elemental divinities—night, day, mountain, sea and storm.”

This beautifully written novel, inspired by his experience as a pilot in South America, tells of the brave men impelled to perform their routine acts of heroism by a steely chief named Rivière, whose extraordinary character is revealed through the dramatic events of a single night.