Everyone's talking about liberty.

But at what cost?

And for whom?

Neighbors clash. Soldiers occupy the town. Authorities wield a heavy hand. Violence erupts in the streets. It's Boston . . . before the American Revolution.

As printers of The Boston Bystander, newlyweds John and Mary Doerr find it increasingly difficult to keep their newspaper neutral and their newfound "family" safe as tension between Patriots and Loyalists heats up around them.

Their young printer's devil, Tommy, spies for both a British officer and an overly zealous member of the Sons of Liberty. Their brilliant servant girl, Phebe, harbors a dangerous secret. The Merchants Committee harasses their shopkeeper friends, the Cummings sisters. The sisters' impetuous cousin, Fanny, loves a British soldier.

Adding to the Doerrs' cares, they are asked to print a petition calling for freedom for the enslaved. As everyone confronts the competing demands of liberty, each is forced to take a side amid bloodshed, blackmail, and threatening clouds of revolution.