The year is 1941, and bombs are being dropped from the night sky, blanketing the city of London. When fourteen-year-old Nick Freestone's apartment is demolished, his mother decides the situation in England has grown too unstable. Nick will be safer, his mother hopes, living with his father in Burma on the family's teak plantation.

Nick arrives at the plantation eager to learn about the timber elephants raised and trained there, and also to spend time with his father. But before he can settle in, trouble erupts in the remote Burmese village. Japanese soldiers invade, and Nick's father is taken prisoner. Nick is stranded, forced to work as a servant to the new rulers. As life in the village grows more dangerous for Nick and his friend Mya, they plan their daring escape, determined to rescue their families. But to succeed, they will have to brave not only the threat of enemy soldiers, but the dangers of their wilderness journey.

In this thrilling adventure through the jungles of Burma, Roland Smith explores the far-reaching effects of World War II, while introducing readers to the fascinating world of timber elephants and their mahouts.