It is 1760, and Lord MacNeil decides that the way to make a man of his 13-year-old son, John, is to bring him along from England to Canada. He knows that John, with his expert drawing skills, will make an excellent cartographer of Canada's wilderness; an activity that will keep him away from the dangers of war.

On the eve of John's departure, his beloved twin sister, Jane, gives him her treasured silver ring. As John wears this circle of silver, it becomes the link to everything he loves: his homeland, the frontier, and his newly-made friends - especially the intriguing Marie Roy....