Fourteen-year old Frank Hollahan moves to Florida in 1943, at the height of World War II, to join his father, a navy seaman. When Frank and his mother arrive at the busy naval port of Jacksonville, a surprising new life awaits them. In this new place, Frank s life changes in ways he never imagined. In his new school, his tendency toward exaggeration quickly builds him a reputation as a teller of tales. He wanders to the beach one night and sees what seems to be a man coming ashore from a submarine. When he informs his family, friends, and teachers that he saw a spy from a German U-boat land...