It is 1943, and the struggle against Japan rages across the steaming, jungle-choked Solomon Islands. As the fate of the South Pacific hangs precariously in the balance, Lieutenant David Armistead--a Marine Corps hero and cousin of President Franklin Roosevelt--is rumored to have deserted, perhaps to the enemy. For Coast Guard Commander Josh Thurlow, the news is particularly bad. He befriended Armistead while fighting by his side. Now he has orders straight from the top to bring him back or kill him in the attempt.

Pressed into the mission is an officer who couldn't be less like Josh: a shiftless PT boat skipper named John F. Kennedy. To find their elusive quarry, they and Josh's crew of misfits must face dangers as exotic as the lush battleground that surrounds them, including implacable Japanese, an Australian coastwatcher-turned-warlord, and a beautiful seductress who will either steal Josh's heart--or have his head...