It is late 1797, and Ireland teeters on the brink of rebellion. Seventeen-year-old James Lockwood, fresh from school, defies his aristocratic father and takes a commission with the Westmeath Militia Regiment. Posted to the regimental barracks, he is thrown head-first into military life, struggling to fit in while grappling with the duties of a junior officer. He faces numerous challenges: the Irish enlisted men are distrustful of their officers, many of the common people hate any man in a red coat, and his brother officers are a puzzling mix of personality and ability. Brigid O'Brian, meanwhile, is at school, and is offered an opportunity, rare for an Irish Catholic, to teach there. Her father wants her to return home to Clonakilty, but eventually allows her to work in far-away Cork town. Brigid, an exceptionally lovely young woman, is soon courted by the officers of the Cork garrison. As a result old friends and comrades begin to doubt the loyalties of both Brigid and her father who appears to have a darker life that could be related to the rebellion. James Lockwood proves himself in several actions against the rebels. When he and a fellow officer named Charles Barr, an inveterate duelist, transfer to Cork, they both vie for Brigid's affection, while the whole of Ireland dissolves into violent rebellion. Lockwood finds himself leading his men into a key battle for control of West Cork, where loyalty is tested in bloody close-quarters combat.