Thirteen-year-old Elijah Hoag is slow to develop skills he needs for life on his family's farm at the Peru Union, a Quaker settlement in northern New York. He questions his faith before meeting the school boys of Aikin's Volunteer Rifle Company, who have joined the fight against a British invasion of northern New York in September of 1814. After Elijah's friend is killed, he joins the volunteers in the Battle of Plattsburgh. His experience clarifies his future: he learns he can embrace being Quaker and still follow his dreams.