As World War II breaks out in Europe, a broken-hearted boy arrives in Charleston - his family splintered by a tobacco barn fire that killed his mother and cost the family farm. In the years that follow, Tee McLauren will be transformed from a rule-breaking "teef"- which is almost indistinguishable from being a "thief"- into a fine young man, thanks to a remarkable group of unlikely friends. From the deceptively sleepy streets of pre-war Charleston to the brutal jungles of the Pacific theatre of war, the author draws a compelling portrait of this young man's coming of age and the enduring value of friendship.
