
After escaping from a death sentence in the summer of 1775, Octavian
and his tutor, Dr. Trefusis, find shelter but no safe harbor in
British-occupied Boston and, on hearing of Lord Dunmore's proclamation
offering freedom to slaves who join the counterrevolutionary forces,
Octavian and his friends find themselves on board a British ship
raiding the shores of Virginia as the Revolutionary War breaks out in
full force.