Kit Porter’s fear that he is being followed is confirmed when he is arrested by Alec Weston, a captain in the City Guard. Taken as a thief, Kit soon realizes that darker forces are at work. Captain Weston’s suspicions have been aroused by the Lord Chancellor’s insistence that he take an armed escort to the eastern border of the shire to pick up one lone cutpurse. As Alec gets to know Kit during their journey back to the capital, he becomes convinced that his prisoner is something more than a common thief. When Alec finally realizes the reason for Kit’s arrest, his growing feelings for the young man and his outraged sense of justice lead him to make a choice that will change their lives forever.

After narrowly escaping the sinister plotting of Anthony Arlen’s City Guard and the wrath of the outlawed Sun League, Kit Porter and his friends, Alec Weston and Robert Warren, must flee or risk capture—or worse. With enemies dogging their every move, the friends risk a brief, heartbreaking meeting with Kit’s mother before pushing on to the town of Ludlow. There, they enlist the aid of Jamie McEwen, a rich merchant and old friend of Alec’s, who offers them a way out. But in order to make good their escape, they must first reach Boston, a port city on the other side of the country. The tense journey across England tests Alec and Kit’s growing feelings for each other, while forcing Robert to confront unresolved guilt over past loyalties and actions. Just when escape seems within reach, the Sun League closes in, and the three friends face a desperate battle to evade the awful fate in store for them.