In a tiny Russian-occupied Polish village, twelve-year-old Patryk and his friends entertain themselves with dares -- some more harmful than others -- until Germans bomb the schoolhouse and the Great War crashes in. The ringleader of the friends devises the best dare yet: whichever boy steals the finest military button will be king. Newbery Medalist Avi delivers an unflinching tale of boys in wartime determined to prove themselves with a dare that spins disastrously out of control.