With three years left in his indenture to hot-tempered printer John Mein, all sixteen-year-old Will Northaway wants is to fulfill his obligations and become a free man. But Boston in 1767 is divided over the issue of colonial rights versus loyalty to British rule, and Will finds himself caught in the middle of the bitter political struggle. Bound to a Loyalist printer, but drawn to the cause of Sam Adams and the patriots, Will feels like an outsider.

As months pass and British soldiers move into Boston, the arguments between Will's master and their patriot neighbors grow more and more heated. After learning some hard lessons about loyalty and true friendship, it becomes clear to Will that he will have to decide where he stands in this great struggle-and where he stands before God.