1774. The revolution brewing in the American colonies is set to erupt in violent conflict. In Hopewell, near Trenton, New Jersey, the nearly lifeless body of an orphan girl is pulled from the Delaware River by a son of John Hart, a man whose passion for independence has brought down the wrath of the British Crown and its many local sympathizers.Thus begins an epic two-part saga in which the Harts become pivotal players in the cause of freedom, pitted against a powerful enemy alongside George Washington, Ben Franklin, and other patriots from throughout the colonies. John Hart becomes a hunted man, and young Edward Hart-deeply inspired by the writings of Thomas Paine-falls in love, enlists in Washington's ragtag army, and suffers tragic losses on and off the battlefield before victory at Trenton changes his life and alters the course of history.In the explosive second part, modern day Trenton comes into vivid focus as Luis Alma-son of Cuban immigrants, hero, and reluctant candidate for mayor-struggles to hold his family together. Against a backdrop of crime, corruption, and murder, a mystery unfolds linking the Alma family to the Harts of Hopewell, and a young man from the wrong side of the tracks discovers that the key to Trenton's future may lie in a secret from its past.