Johnny Red told the story of nineteen-year-old RAF pilot John Redburn, a working class lad from the streets of Liverpool. Following an unjust court martial for accidentally striking a superior officer, Redburn is dishonourably discharged from the service. The striking offence was later changed to an accidental killing, with the supposedly dead squadron leader's brother arriving to plague Redburn in the skies over Leningrad.

Unable to find work assisting the war effort, Redburn takes a job as a galley rat onboard a Merchant Navy supply ship working the Murmansk route. The convoy is hit by enemy aircraft, killing, among others, the pilot of the catapult-launched Hurricane on Redburn's vessel. With no-one else qualified to fly the plane, Redburn steals it for a one-way flight, in order to offer air support to the remaining ships.

Low on fuel, he forces a landing on Russian soil, where he falls in with the abandoned and desperate Falcon Squadron. Unable to return home, and likely facing charges for stealing the Hurricane, Redburn opts to remain with the Russian band, flying many daring missions, which earn him the nickname 'Djavol', the Red Devil.

As the war progresses, Redburn endures the losses of a hard-fought and under resourced campaign. He becomes the de facto squadron leader simply by attrition, as his comrades fall in action. Special missions and postings see Redburn return to England and fly with the USAF, but he returns to the Falcons until the war ends and he is finally able to head for home.

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