John Sevier had not taken much interest in the American Revolution. Homesteading in the Carolina mountains, Sevier was too busy, but when an arrogant British officer sends a message, threatening to burn the settlers' farms and kill their families, the war becomes personal. That abrasive officer is British Army Major Patrick Ferguson, the younger son of a Scottish earl. Ferguson suffers constant misfortunes, making his dedication and courage count for nothing. When he loses the use of his arm from an injury at Brandywine, his commander sends him south, away from the war-which, in 1780, George Washington and the Continental Army are losing. Ordered to recruit wealthy Southern planters to the British cause, Ferguson courts disaster by provoking the frontiersmen, and suddenly the far-off war is a sword's length away. Two Tory washerwomen, Virginia Sal and Virginia Paul, portray the human side of the king's army. Threatened by the Loyalists with invasion, Sevier knows that Ferguson has to be stopped. In response, Sevier and his loyal comrades-many of whom would play key roles in later American history-raise a volunteer militia of more than a thousand men. The Overmountain Men ally themselves with other states' militias and march toward Charlotte in search of Ferguson's marauding army.