1943: The world is at war. Europe suffers under the madman Hitler. Fear of Nazi attacks on Cape Ann, north of Boston turns to hatred of local citizens of German descent. A young man is left alone to care for his sick mother when his father, a former German naval officer suddenly disappears leaving the family in extreme poverty. The lad finds a new friends; an old man who is a guard at the local watch tower a reclusive middle-aged European woman whose friendship becomes key in his struggle to become a man. Local gossip brands her a Mater Hari who is leading the young man into sin. When Nazis come ashore, the old man at the watch tower is murdered. The boy thinks his father may have committed the crime. Trying to solve the mystery, the lad becomes himself a suspect. At the breaking point, the young man learns both hard and sweet lessons about life in the thrilling conclusion