Theo Warner, delegate from Vermont, has the dual mandate of independence and abolition. Serving two masters may be more than he bargained for, in the Continental Congress.

SYNOPSIS:

Determined and assiduous negotiation got Vermont a seat at the table, for the May 1776 session of the Continental Congress. Theo Warner, the beneficiary of slowly-bending intransigence on the part of New York, is charged with advocating for the tiny colony's interests, as the Congress manages the war and peace effort.

Slowly but surely, that becomes a direct confrontation on slavery. The Southern colonies are not happy about Thomas Jefferson's declaration about their peculiar institution. And with his own participation therein, condemnation on the practice hangs by a thread.

Mr. Rutledge, of South Carolina, is its staunch defender. Can Warner keep Jefferson from yielding to Rutledge's demand for the removal of the passage castigating slave markets in the colonies? Is he prepared for the consequences, if it remains in the final document?