Three boys, Charlie, Masa and Alf, live an easy life on Thursday Island in the Torres Strait, until war is declared against Japan. Because Masa’s father is a Japanese pearl shell diver, he and other Japanese families are interned on the mainland. The boys help Masa to escape and are on the run. War and its moral dilemmas are intertwined in this story of friendship and adventure with a historical background that is powerfully realised.

1. Detention Centres
2. Friendship
3. History
4. Intolerance
5. War