Yankee Doodle came to town
For to buy a firelock
We will tar and feather him
And so, we will John Hancock
—ALTERNATE BRITISH VERSION OF YANKEE DOODLE

Jack has deserted the British Army during the Battle of Monmouth after killing his drunken commanding officer in self-defense. He finds refuge with a wealthy landowner in Annapolis, who offers Jack the hand of his daughter if he will serve as a surrogate in the Continental Army, along with the slave, Custis. Jack and Custis endure the harsh winter of 1780-81 at Washington’s army encampment in New Jersey.

When spring arrives, they are swept into the Battle of Camden, where the Continental forces are decimated by the British. The unlikely pair become separated from their army and must survive together, lost in the inhospitable and volatile south, where trust is non-existent and where Custis’ value as a commodity tests Jack’s ability to lead them back home.