They are bitter enemies when they meet on December 20, 1943, at over eight kilometers in the sky: the American Charlie Brown in his heavily damaged B-17 bomber and the German fighter pilot Franz Stigler, who should simply bring the enemy pilot down from the sky, but he does not. Instead, Stigler escorts the bomber over the German anti-aircraft defenses all the way to the North Sea, saving Brown and his entire crew's lives. The story of these two flying aces is legendary. And it is true. Historian and journalist Adam Makos, supported by bestselling author Larry Alexander, has spent years delving into the events in detail and meeting those involved. "A Higher Duty" is not a book about a brief moment of compassion, but a book about what it means to be a pilot in a war.