Cryptonomicon is a science fiction novel by esteemed writer Neal Stephenson. The book describes events occurring in different time periods but connected by the large cast of characters. Some events occur during World War II while others occur in the modern era. Most of the characters in the modern era are descendants of those in the World War II period.
The book opens up in Japan, where two divisions of the military are working hand in hand to decrypt Nazi message. One division is led by Corporal Bobby Shaftoe, his team is tasked with locating any evidence of Allied presence in Shanghai and destroying it. The other group consists of coders who have been decoding secret military messages sent by the Nazis using the Enigma Machine.
The story shifts to another section, introducing the audience to a mathematical genius in Princeton named Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse. During his time at Princeton, Lawrence meets other mathematicians Alan Turing and Rudolf Von Hacklheber and the trio become friends. After their studies, Lawrence joins the army while Turing makes his way back to England. Both men join the army, but Lawrence first joins as a member of the band due to his poor physical condition. However, Lawrence moves up to become one of the leading coders in the army. He is assigned to a team of coders called Cryptonomicon who are tasked with decoding Nazi messages.
Bobby Shaftoe meets a Japanese soldier, Goto Dengo, and the two become close friends. Bobby is then reassigned to a group called Detachment 2702 which is involved in military maneuvers meant to confuse the Nazis and hide the fact that they can decode their messages. Lawrence has also been assigned to the Detachment 2702 as one of the leading coders. Goto is also reassigned to an engineering department tasked with building a bunker in the mountains in Shanghai.
The story then jumps to the 1990s where Lawrence’s grandson, Randy Waterhouse is working with Avi to create a secure digital fortress that is free from the government’s control and protects the privacy of its clients. The two meet up with potential investors and begin to build. Randy does not trust some of their investors. They hire a company owned by Douglas MacArthur Shaftoe (Bobby’s son) and his daughter Amy to lay underwater cables. Amy and her father Douglas inform Randy that there are gold treasures from the World War II beneath the ocean and that it should be split equally among them.
Goto discovers his assignment is a suicide mission. The Nazis intended on hiding huge amounts of gold in the bunker then cause an explosion to bury the engineers and the gold. This was to ensure no one ever finds the gold.
Back in the 1990s, Randy has discovered the secret bunker beneath the ocean containing the gold. He is however arrested on false charges which prompt him to work fast and secretly send an encoded message to his team with the exact location of the bunker.
