Book overview
It's spring 1775 in Massachusetts. King George III has unleashed his military to impose his will upon the unruly colonists. Many Americans, tired of being treated as second-class citizens, organize and train militias to oppose the British Empire, by force if necessary. The Langston family, although sensitive to the concerns of fellow colonists, remain supporters of the king.
Fifteen-year-old Caleb Langston dreams of working alongside his father on the family farm. His life, however, is upended when he is apprenticed to his uncle's manufacturing concern in Philadelphia. On the journey to his new home, Caleb befriends Becky, a passionate advocate for the American cause for independence.
As Caleb and his uncle travel through Lexington, the local militia face off with a company of British soldiers on the Green. Although the redcoats wound his uncle and kill several colonists, Caleb blames the militiamen for provoking the clash. What Caleb could not know at the time was that he witnessed the "shot heard round the world."
In the aftermath of the battles of Lexington and Concord, Caleb works with Becky at a makeshift hospital in Charlestown. A British army captain recruits him to spy on the rebel encampment in Cambridge, providing Caleb with an opportunity to serve his king.
After ingratiating himself with the rebels, Caleb learns of their plan to build a fort on Bunker Hill, a strategic position that would threaten the British fleet and the garrisoned town of Boston. He also discovers that Becky is spying on the British for the rebel generals.
Before he reports the Bunker Hill scheme to the British, Caleb uncovers information about his family that jolts him to his core. Consequently, he questions his fealty to the king and is forced to make a fateful decision: Should he remain loyal to Great Britain, or should he join the American Patriots in the coming fight for independence?
