At the direction of Benjamin Franklin, Moses, James and Henri travel to Boston in search of Sarah, who has arrived from England on a tea-laden ship. When they get to the Harbor, they happen upon the disguised colonists and discover they are raiding the very ship Sarah is on.

Moses, James, Sarah and Henri hide at poet Phillis Wheatley's house in Boston, where some of His Majesty's soldiers are being quartered. Hearing Phillis Wheatley's story, Sarah is confronted with the horror of slavery for the first time. Later, though Sarah does not agree with her new friends' thoughts about Mother England, she helps them in a time of trouble.

Moses lets James report on Congress and after a British sailor is ""tarred and feathered,"" James learns about the ugliness of mob rule, when emotions get in the way of compassion. Sarah and Henri meet Abigail Adams and travel with her to bring supplies and pamphlets to the occupied city of Boston. Sarah immediately finds in Abigail a strong female role model to look up to.

James, Sarah, Henri and Moses travel to Virginia, where they witness Patrick Henry's speech. Moses is shocked to find his brother Cato on the slave auction block and risks his own freedom to rescue him. Cato sees hope for himself in Dunmore's Proclamation and in the end leaves his brother to seek his own path to freedom.

Sarah and James travel to Boston to deliver a message to Patriot leader Dr. Joseph Warren and end up riding with the famous messengers so that they can write about it for the paper.

James, reporting on the Minutemen, and Sarah, falling in with the British forces, report from both sides on the ""shot heard ‘round the world"" at Lexington. They each leave the scene fearful of what the future will bring though James is caught up with the romanticism of fighting for liberty.

James heads to the Grants to cover the story of the settlers' struggle; Sarah goes hoping to find a place in the Green Mountains for her family to settle, and Henri wants to find maple syrup. Sarah and James witness the capture of the fort and Sarah befriends Benedict Arnold, whom she instantly respects.

Desperate for information on what Congress is doing behind the closed doors of the statehouse, James unknowingly befriends a British spy. Sarah and Moses meet George Washington and together use ""Yankee ingenuity"" to fix Washington's carriage after it breaks.

James witnesses the Battle of Bunker Hill from the American side, while Sarah interviews one of the British officers, and Henri acts as a messenger.

When the Philadelphia patriots find out that some of their mail isn't being delivered to the right people by the British-controlled postal service, James and Sarah volunteer to carry important letters to New York. Ben Franklin becomes the colonies' Postmaster General on July 26, 1775.

Washington puts together the Continental Army. Meanwhile James goes with Henry Knox to get cannons from Fort Ticonderoga.

Sarah, James and Henri meets Thomas Paine and they hear his beliefs on the common man and independence.

Sarah and James meet Thomas Jefferson and witnesses the writing of the Declaration of Independence.

Sarah does a report on the loyalists opinion on the revolution in New York. Meanwhile James escapes to Manhattan with the Continental Army.

Sarah, Henri and James reports on a sea monster in the New York harbor, then they meet the submarine inventor David Bushnell.

Sarah and James witnesses Nathan Hale's commitment to independence.

With General Washington losing battle after battle, James' confidence wavers. He and Sarah go to Washington's camp to report from the front lines. However, because she is a girl, Sarah is sent to Fort Tryon with the other women and children. There, she befriends Molly, a spunky patriot whose husband was killed fighting the British. But then James finds out that the British are going to attack Fort Tryon! Meanwhile, back in Philadelphia, Moses starts teaching Henri how to read.

The gang meets back up with Thomas Paine. Meanwhile, George Washington is under pressure to win his battle.

James learns more about the captured British spy.

While visiting Abigail Adams, Sarah gets exposed to smallpox. Meanwhile Alexander Hamilton joins George Washington in the battle.

James learns from the courageuos Sybil Ludington that the thought of independence not only lies in the hearts of soldiers and determined young men, but also in the hearts of determined young women. Sarah travels to Philadelphia with General Benedict Arnold and witness his passion of being ranked to a higher office in the army.

Henri meets the Marquis de Lafayette.

James is found by the British and is tied to a Hessian.

James and Sarah see the hardship that foot soldiers endure during the war; Washington faces betrayal.

James learns about religious freedom from Moses Michael Hayes; Sarah and Henri are in occupied Philadelphia.