The year is 1773, and hardworking Americans are fed up with their English oppressors. The thirteen colonies were founded as lands of freedom, but there is a cost to liberty. Are the colonists ready to pay it? It is against this backdrop that important personalities begin to emerge. George Washington, John Adams, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Benjamin Franklin all have their parts to play in the war to come, but David Ross Cornish’s vivid historical novel also adds other characters to the mix. William Finch is a Boston merchant with a family to protect. His father’s death in the French and Indian War makes him keenly aware that in battle, even the winning side loses something inherently precious. It is something the rebels must consider before making their intentions clear. Jean Paul Pierre DuBois may be from Marseille, but he considers Boston his new home. Despite fighting on the opposite side in the French and Indian War, he considers William a fast friend. As they and the rest of Boston see the startling ramifications of one act of protest, each man must decide what sacrifices he would make for a chance to build a nation free of tyranny.