In the South Pacific during World War II, Joseph takes responsibility for his people. On the island of Saipan, the war is a distant idea for Joseph. The Japanese, who have governed the island for twenty-five years, mix regularly with the native islanders. Though no one questions who holds power, the two peoples coexist peacefully. One of the only islanders allowed into the Japanese school, Joseph is the son of the Chamorro chief and proud of his heritage. He seeks to fight against the oppressors, as his warrior ancestors did, and is openly defiant. War approaches, though, and Joseph’s responsibility to his people grows uncomfortable. Through a personal crisis and then engagement in a large battle of the war, Joseph begins to learn the true practices of a warrior. In this debut novel, Nancy Bo Flood creates clear-voiced characters who move convincingly through war and mounting pressure. Her experience as a teacher in and resident of Saipan creates a backdrop that reveals the texture of the island, its history, and its culture. Readers will feel Joseph’s strain as they become familiar with this little-known chapter of American history. Kento squeezed my arm and pointed to four distant silhouettes. He used the silent hand signals we had practiced, and mimicked my every move, crouching low beneath branches of coconut palms, then scooting his legs into the tangled bush and vines. We lay motionless in the hot sand. … “Stay face down! Don’t move,” I whispered. “But the rats, Joseph.” “Rats bite, Kento, bullets kill. Stay down.” —FROM THE BOOK