Twelve year old Sarah “Stick” Lawson and her friends Rain and Neb live on Hatteras Island, North Carolina, calling themselves the Dime Novel Kids. The three operate out of a lighthouse and, using skills gleaned from reading dime store mysteries, comb the island to solve self-assigned cases, such as trying to catch the island’s petty thief while they wait for the requests for help that they are sure will come from the FBI. But with World War II looming and suspicious newcomers arriving on the island, Stick and her young detective sidekicks realize that real danger may be lurking just off the coast of their small island. Are there German submarines in the waters of the Outer Banks poised to sink American ships, and who of these new strangers may be part of the plot? As the kids focus their attention on discovering the Nazi spies they are sure are helping to orchestrate such attacks, they begin to suspect that even some of Hatteras’ lifelong residents may be part of this wartime menace. The Dimes are about to face more mysteries than they could ever have wished for and risk more than they could ever have imagined. A gripping tale of intrigue from a Newbery Medal author that is a wonderful complement to discussions of World War II and its regional impact.