Joshua Harding struggles with his conscience over his loyalty to King George and his empathy with the growing discontent of his friends and fellow colonists as they are pitted against outlandish taxation regulations. As an attorney, he is witness to the events in Boston-The Boston Massacre trial, and the impressments trial of Captain Preston. From his boyhood in the Shawsheen River Valley, to his home in Medford, his story is one of courage, conviction, and a sense of righteousness. Luke, his brother-in-law, faces the tribulations of a marriage gone sour and the tragedy of his wife's suicide. He fights side-by-side with Joshua in the altercation with the British at Lexington and Concord. Patrick Mullins, Captain of the Merryweather, sails from his homeport of Gloucester to the West Indies to obtain arms and ammunition for a war that is about to erupt. After losing his wife and daughter in childbirth, he is plagued by grief and loneliness and finds solace in the arms of Samantha, a Creole serving girl. His tale of participation in espionage and his ability to outwit British patrol ships is fascinating and humorous.