Sent to sea as a young midshipman, James Addington, is the son of a British Admiral following in his father’s footsteps.  Born in the colonies, he sails from New York City in 1770 aboard H.M.S. Andromeda.  Over the next three years, battling pirates and slavers, the young man matures into a loyal officer of the Royal Navy.  But the terrible events of 1776 drag James back to the land of his birth. As a lieutenant in the frigate Challenger, he is a witness to the bloody Battle of Breed’s Hill, as the fledging rebel army takes on the pride of the British Army.  Stunned by what he sees, he knows the colonies will be forever changed.  What he doesn’t realize is that he will change along with them. 

 Falling in love with a young lady from Massachusetts, Addington finds himself immersed in a tangled web of conflicting loyalties and passions.  Does he help crush the rebellion or does he fall victim to the lure of independence?  His journey takes him from north to south in the colonies and across the Atlantic as captain of his own ship.  From the Battles of Saratoga to Yorktown, he learns the price of friendship and loyalty as the fight for America’s independence builds to a thundering climax.                              Cover