The Cay is a heartwarming story of survival, friendship and sacrifice. The author dedicates this children's book to Dr. Martin Luther King's dream of racial equality. Set during World War II, the main character is eleven-year-old Phillip Enright. His father is a brave American, who has chosen to move his family to the island of Curacao in order to lend his expertise to the war effort by working to increase the output of aircraft fuel at the island's refinery. Curacao is a Dutch-controlled island, and so young Phillip learns Dutch and comes in contact with the local Dutch populace. There is also a population of West Indian black sailors with whom Phillip is not allowed much contact, as his mother harbors racial prejudice against black people.

German submarines surround the island, hoping to choke off the shipping lanes used by local tankers to provide fuel for...