Revealing the fears and uncertainties that Torres Strait Islander women experienced living virtually on Australia's front line from 1942 to 1945 during the Pacific War, this account describes how some were forcibly evacuated with their children to the mainland, where they found themselves still restricted as to where and how they could live. The history also chronicles how others were left on their tiny islands, deserted in the end by government and church—despite the constant threat of Japanese advance through the Torres Strait.