Nathaniel Smithfield is a ten-year-old boy living with his family in Boston, Massachusetts in 1768 when he first starts to witness the drama happening in the city around him. Tension heats up between those who are loyal to the British crown, like Nathaniel's father, and those who believe the people of America are being treated unfairly. Over the following years as he grows into a teenager, Nathaniel must decide where his own beliefs lie, and how far he will go to fight for them, no matter the consequences.