On April 1, 1945 with the battle of Okinawa beginning, fourteen-year-old native Okinawan Hideki, drafted into the Blood and Iron Student Corps, is handed two grenades and told to go kill American soldiers; small for his age Hideki does not really want to kill anyone, he just wants to find his family, and his struggle across the island will finally bring him face-to-face with Ray, a marine in his very first battle--and the choice he makes then will...

After America is drawn into World War II, Hank McCallum finds himself on the USS Yorktown, an aircraft carrier in the Pacific, separated from his brother Theo, in constant danger from torpedoes, and just learning about the prejudice and segregation that plague his new friend from Tonga Bradford.