In 1942, the United States Marines invaded the island of Guadalcanal in the South Pacific. This sparked a historic conflict with the Imperial Japanese Army. It also set the stage for a titanic series of battles between the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy. This sweeping novel explores the scope of this epic conflictthe agony, heroism, horror, romance, and absurditythe people, and the places that defined this timeless struggle. The heavy cruiser, USS Cheyenne, would participate in many of these fearsome engagements while her captain, Alex Patrick, guided his ship into battle less afraid of his enemy at sea than his own emotional struggles with the women he loved. Meanwhile allied coastwatchers kept a lonely, mountain-top vigil, sweeping the sea and sky with only a radio and their wits. An Australian coastwatcher, Lt. Ian McMahon, and his loyal native scouts struggle to stay alive as the Japanese repeatedly sent patrols to find them and put them to a grisly death.