Ten-year-old Piper moves yet again when her father, who is a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy, gets assigned to Norfolk, Virginia, and although the move takes a bit of adjustment, she soon makes friends with the girl next door and catches up with old friends too.

In January 1942, twelve-year-old Colton is on his family's fishing boat in the Atlantic with his older brother Danny when the boat is capsized by a Nazi U-boat, and Danny is severely injured; realizing how close the enemy is, Colton takes his brother's enlistment papers and joins the Navy, determined to do his part to defeat Germany--if only he can keep his age a secret and survive life at sea.

When she discovers the price of the coveted clubhouse, ten-year-old Piper and her fellow Gypsy Club members try to earn the money by creating a birthday-party-planning business.

Piper is sad about leaving her home and friends behind when her father, a Navy aircraft mechanic, is transferred yet again, but with help from her often-annoying sisters and a surprise from their parents, she finds happiness in their new home in Pensacola, Florida.