"It is the summer of 1972 when eleven-year-old Annie blackens her eyelids and cheeks with grease-paint camouflage for her first mission. The flag is under heavy guard, but Annie would do anything for the game, and her scouting partner, Justin - more self-assured at fourteen than Annie believes she will ever be - has to admit that Annie is tough, even for a city kid. That night, as they rush through the darkness on their dangerous reconnaissance, something happens between them that changes everything. "Now we've both done something we can't tell," Justin warns her, and even in the thrill of the chase Annie knows they will never speak of it again."--BOOK JACKET. "Back in New York City that fall, the difficult lessons of divorce and depression send Annie reeling. But just as she seems to be losing the only family she's ever known, Annie joins forces with her longtime opponents in Capture the Flag. The fact that Tessa, Liz, and Sam - the sophisticated Shanlick sisters - live downtown is emblematic of their penchant for living beyond their years, and in their company Annie finds herself growing up fast."--BOOK JACKET. "When the teenagers believe they have secrets no adult would ever understand, Annie's newfound maturity is sorely tested. They plan a retreat into the world of their childhood, back to the playing fields of Capture the Flag."--BOOK JACKET.