Code Name Sonny

It’s 1942. Joe is representative of many young American men of his generation: America and its Allies are at war with the Germans and the Japanese, and this New Hampshire teenager wants to be in the thick of it.

Joe got his wish in the spring of 1944.

His mom is French Canadian, so Joe grew up speaking fluent French. His uncanny ability to build and repair radios, and his knowledge of French, land him a special role behind enemy lines as an Allied World War II operative with the codename ‘Sonny.’

Their new mission is to assemble and deliver radios to help the French Resistance transmit false messages about Allied movements on channels known to be tracked by the Germans.

One fateful night while delivering radios with his team, Sonny finally encounters the horrors of war. He saves the life of a nine-year old girl, Charlene, watching in terror with her as Nazi soldiers kill her parents. He learns the revulsion of killing…even when it’s enemy soldiers. Charlene is eventually captured and brutally interrogated by the SS and Gestapo, who recognize her and seek the partisans who rescued her. Later that evening, she died in Sonny’s arms, saying “I never told them.” Sonny now mourns the cruel torture of an innocent child, the massacre of partisans, and the murder of a new friend.

Sonny has kept his World War II secrets hidden from his family for 56 years for fear those whom he fought behind enemy lines are still alive to retaliate and harm his family. But now his wartime remembrances come pouring out. His tear-filled recounting startles his son, Jack, who has been laid off from his computer job.

Jack embarks on investigating his Dad’s military career. Jack learns about a young German woman named Gisele, who is touring the country speaking about the heroic service of World War II American soldiers she has interviewed, many of whom she said served with her grandfather, a double agent.

As Jack tries to unravel mysteries, he realizes too late the danger lurking close to home.