Caroline's father has just returned when they receive frightening news--British warships are sailing to attack Sackets Harbor. Every grown man, including Papa, has been called to defend the village. Mama and Caroline are left alone to guard Abbott's Shipyard as the battlefront draws ever closer. Caroline knows she must be brave to keep Papa's shipyard safe. But when the battle seems lost, Mama gives her a terrible order: burn the shipyard to the ground....

Caroline and her mother make a danagerous trip across Lake Ontario to the British fort where her father is a prisoner. When Mama isn't allowed to see Papa, it's up to Caroline to deliver a secret message to him--right under the nose of a British guard.