On June 23, 2018, twelve young players of the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach enter a cave in northern Thailand seeking an afternoon's adventure. But when they turn to leave, rising floodwaters block their path out. The boys are trapped! Before long, news of the missing team spreads, launching a seventeen-day rescue operation involving thousands of rescuers from around the globe. Combining firsthand interviews of rescue workers with in-depth science and details of the region's culture and religion, the author shows how both the complex engineering operation above ground and the mental struggles of the thirteen young people below proved critical in the life-or-death mission. -- adapted from publisher's description.

A typical Saturday. The boys of the wild boars ; This is Mae Sai --A sky full of water -- The Cave of the Sleeping Lady. Tham Luang cave system with cross sections -- First on the scene -- Trapped. A cave is born ; A Karst cave system -- The cave man -- The dangers of cave diving. Rules to dive by -- Empty bellies, clear minds. Meditation -- At war with the water -- The problem solvers. The spirits around us -- The sump divers -- Coach Ek. Thailand's stateless people ; Buddhism in Thailand -- The water expert -- The rescue stalls. Stay cool -- The beautiful game. Stages of hypothermia -- Going back in -- Creating a diversion -- One last try. Rebreathe, reuse, recycle -- "Brilliant" -- Now what? -- The get-it-done crew -- Panic -- A tragic loss -- Risking it all -- A very important meeting. Tham Luang dive-rescue plan -- Stage one: rehearsals. Practice makes perfect -- Stage two: "Today is D-Day." Fall asleep, wake up in bed -- Alone in the dark -- Mission possible. How the rescuers got the boys out -- The Sleeping Lady has the final say -- It should not have worked.