It is 1781, and the war for American independence is in its sixth bloody year. In Virginia, the patriot forces of the Marquis de Lafayette meet the army of British general Lord Charles Cornwallis near Green Spring Farm. On one side of the field are two brothers from Massachusetts, Daniel and Joshua Brattle. On the other side is Sergeant Tom Martin of the British 1st Light Infantry. Each is confident of victory, but it is Cornwallis who prevails, sending Lafayette's army reeling back in defeat.

Joshua Brattle is wounded, and Daniel takes him to a farmhouse where he meets Catherine...