A Royal American: A New Jersey Officer in the King's Service During the Revolution

Mystery surrounds James Ricketts, a New Jersey officer in the King's service during the American Revolution. Unable to return home because of the war, he leaves his first posting in the West Indies for Scotland to rendezvous for his marriage to Sarah Livingston, daughter of a prominent New York patriot. Their hosts include a British general. From then on they become entangled in disturbing plots. A duel to the death develops between James and an archenemy, the venomous Peter Cartwright. After training recruits at St Augustine, James comes to grips with slavery on the family sugar plantation in Jamaica. Transferred to New York, his career increasingly centres on the bitter struggle between loyalists and rebels. Taking refuge in London, James and Sarah encounter some of his former foes with surprising results.