As a young child, Ned was sent away from his Navajo family to attend Mission School so that he would learn the religion and customs of the white people. There, the students were told to forget everything about being Navajo and were forbidden from speaking their native language. But fortunately, Ned never forgot—because now, years later, that language is going to help Ned defend his country!

As World War II rages, Navajo marines are using their native language to develop a secret code that is unbreakable by the enemy forces. Determined to do his part, 16-year-old Ned lies about his age to enlist in the marines and become a code talker. Soon Ned is braving some of the heaviest fighting of the war, sending crucial top-secret messages, and helping America win the war!

Ned's experiences in the Pacific—from Guadalcanal to Iwo Jima and beyond—will leave him forever changed. This moving historical fiction is based on the real-life Navajo code talkers whose bravery saved countless American lives.