Elise Sontag is a typical American teenager living in Iowa when her German-born father is arrested as a suspected Nazi sympathizer after the U.S. enters World War II. The government sends her entire family to an internment camp in Texas, where Elise befriends Mariko, a Japanese-American girl, forming a bond that helps them endure their unjust imprisonment. The novel follows their friendship through the upheaval of the war's final year, exploring themes of identity, loyalty, and the meaning of home when your own country treats you as an enemy.