"This is the story of the first women naval aviators and their struggles and triumphs as they earned their Wings of Gold, learned to fly increasingly sophisticated jet fighters and helicopters, mastered aircraft carrier landings, served at sea, and reached heights of command that would have been unthinkable less than a generation before. It is also the story of the legacy they left behind"-- Provided by publisher

Prologue: The flyover -- Part I: 1903-1972. Essential but expendable -- a brief history of early military aviation -- Equal means equal -- Part II: The 1970s. The word goes out -- Women's officer training (not quite the same as men's) -- No place to land -- Lessons from integration -- Owens v. Brown -- Part III: The 1980s. "The honeymoon is over" -- Down to the sea in ships -- What's in a name? -- Part IV: The 1990s. Women take command -- The halls of congress -- Tailhook -- The exclusion finally falls -- Part V: The 2000s. Piping over the side -- Epilogue: The flyover.