The story of the opera is based on the disappearance of the B24 bomber '' Lady Be Good '' in 1943 over Libya in North Africa . Taking elements of the story as portrayed in the television movie '' Sole Survivor '' , it enlarges on the themes of dislocation , memory , isolation and identity , and concentrates on the internal relationship between the dead crew and the Major , who heads the search and rescue party sent to survey the wreck . The revelation of their intertwined fate culminates in a dramatic re-enactment of the Madeline Lee ’s final bombing mission over the Mediterranean and the recovery by the Major of his suppressed memories of the event
Lady Be Good
Lady Be Good (aircraft)
Madeline Lee