After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, 10-year-old Michiko's family's possessions are confiscated and they are sent to a small community. After a former Asahi baseball star becomes her new teacher, life gets better. Baseball fever hits town, and when Michiko challenges the adults to a game with her class, the whole town turns out.

Ten-year-old Michiko wants to be proud of her Japanese heritage but can't be. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, her family is forced into deprivation in a small, insular community. The men have been sent to work on the railway, so the women and children are left to make the trip on their own. After a former Asahi baseball star becomes her new teacher, life gets better.

Maruno has created a gentle novel that adds to our Canadian story.