Freegift Cooper is born enslaved. On his mother's death bed, she reveals his father is the disgraced general, Benedict Arnold.
Freegift vows to find his father and make himself known. The only proof he will have to offer? A yellowed newsprint page and facts only his mother could know.
Emancipated and freed from bondage, Freegift sets out to fulfill his promise. On a rafting journey to New London on the Connecticut coastline, he makes a name for himself defending his cargo from river pirates who are part of the murderous crew of the schooner Badger, a gang known as the Mooncussers.
Freegift joins the local militia, ready to defend his new home.
His life of freedom is not a simple one, and as Freegift meets Martine, a Pequot, they both seek to carve out a new life for themselves. Avoiding the evil crew of the Badger is difficult, but Freegift takes to the seas as a privateer on the Minerva to wrest valuable cargo intended for the British, hoping to secure his future with his share of the spoils.
As the Hessians and Redcoats threaten to destroy his new home and all he holds dear, Freegift is torn between his promise to his mother, his new love, and a desire to finally confront his father. As one of the last clashes of the Revolutionary War in the north engulfs his home, Freegift enters the battle that could very well destroy him.