This third novel in the War of 1812 trilogy brings to life the final year of a little-known war -- the only time our country has been invaded by a foreign power. With the Atlantic seaboard closed by the British blockade, Isaac Biggs and his companions find berths with Joshua Barney's gunboat flotilla on the Chesapeake Bay. These swift, shallow-draft little vessels are a thorn in the side of the British fleet and the British command is determined to destroy them. Chased up the Patuxent River by the British, the flotilla finds an uneasy refuge in Benedict, Maryland, where Isaac falls in love with the daughter of a militia colonel. The men of the flotilla are called ashore to assist in the defense of Washington and Baltimore. They witness the bombardment of Fort McHenry from the outer harbor in the company of Francis Scott Key.