Jess Aarons, a ten-year-old boy in rural Virginia, finds a beloved and unexpected friend in Leslie, the new girl at school, with whom he creates a secret kingdom in the woods and from whom he learns lifelong lessons when tragedy strikes.
In 1779 in Fairfield, Connecticut, Hannah and her family try to maintain a sense of normalcy as the Revolutionary War rages around them, threatening to destroy their way of life.
In 1780 in Fairfield, Connecticut, Hannah worries about her brother Ben, a colonial soldier being held prisoner by the British, and joins her family in rebuilding their home and preparing for Ben's homecoming.