The United States had not been attacked by a foreign military force since the war of 1812. Yet in July 1918, a German U-boat shelled local shipping off a little town on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. That strategically absurd but actual event sets the scene for a compelling tale of innocence, survival, and honor. A young student has been forced into the Imperial German Navy because of his language translation skills. On a huge German U-boat, he translates US Navy radio traffic as the submarine raids the US Atlantic Coast. After enduring horrible conditions onboard the U-boat, the young man risks everything to escape, swimming ashore to the safety of America. However, he finds himself facing poisonous anti-German sentiment and the rabid ambitions of a fanatical gang of vigilantes. His survival depends on the actions of a few honorable men-members of the local coastal life-saving service and two journalists covering the resulting huge news story. A crewman off the hated and feared attack U-boat has come ashore