Following the devastating loss at the Battle of Brandywine, three young patriots anonymously assist the American retreat by helping to prevent pursuit by the British, and also aid the wounded General Lafayette (Philippe Forquet), who has been separated from his troops.

Irritated with the daily ringing of the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia as a show of defiance against the English occupation, the British decide to remove the bell and melt it down. Receiving word of this, the young rebels devise a plan to intercept the bell and take it into hiding.

A successful mission turns deadly when Isak (Louis Gossett Jr.) is wounded. On foot and far from help, Jeremy (Richard Ely) is forced to enter the British encampment and kidnap their physician, who is the brother of the regimental commander.

Jeremy, Henry and Isak are sent to New York to assist Patriot spy Nathan Hale (Brandon deWilde). When Hale is betrayed by his cousin and arrested, they try to devise a plan to save him.

Jeremy and Isak must enter a British prison camp in order to obtain sensitive information from a rebel spy. Unfortunately, the spy has died, leaving the information with a trusted friend. Jeremy and Isak must win the soldier's trust in order to retrieve the information to take back to General Washington.

Entrusted to deliver highly sensitive documents directly to Commanding General Washington, Jeremy and Elizabeth pose as a married couple delivering supplies to the troops at Valley Forge. To help guard the documents, they are accompanied by Henry and Isak. While in route, they learn that the British have deployed ten specially trained killers to assassinate Washington, and that one of them may be one of the travelers they picked up along the road, in which case they will be delivering him directly to his target.

When a Tory from Chester sneaks into Lafayette's tent and steals military documents, Jeremy and Isak give chase. The Tory is injured during a fall from his horse, and is taken back to Lafayette's camp, where he later dies. Finding a letter of introduction to a nearby British commandant, Jeremy decides to pose as the spy, Ben Todd, in order to get inside British headquarters and obtain useful information for the rebels.

Major Zanker (Eric Braeden) takes ten hostages from the township, including Jeremy, Elizabeth and her uncle John Coates (Eric Christmas).

John Marshall (David Soul) comes to Chester to recruit young men for the war effort, and encourages Jeremy, Henry and Isak to meet with him. Committed to their own secret operations, they decline his invitation to join his troops, citing neutrality. When a friend is killed by redcoats on his way home from the meeting, young Tad (Mitch Vogel) accuses Jeremy of betraying him to the British, and plots to assassinate him to avenge his brother.

When Jeremy, Henry and Isak intercept a requisition for arms, ammunition, and provisions, a plan is devised to seize wagons and cargo and redirect them to General Lafayette's troops. The plan goes well until an attempt to block pursuit goes awry, and the subsequent explosion traps the three rebels and Elizabeth inside an abandoned mine with four British soldiers.

A Boston composer is harassed by the British soldiers because his songs are performed by American troops.

Disgusted with the pace of the war and the lack of enthusiasm by some of the Chester residents, Henry's cousin Edward (Richard Kelton) turns to terrorist activities. When Henry (Alex Henteloff) is arrested in his place and sentenced to hang, Jeremy, Isak, and Lafayette organize a rescue.

After one of the rebel missions goes awry, it becomes obvious that one of their recruits has tipped off the enemy of their plans. Unfortunately, they don't have time to rout out the infiltrator before the next mission.

Separated as children and sold to different slave-owners, Isak is reunited with his brother, Pompey (Paul Winfield). The reunion is not a happy one, however, for Pompey has been promised freedom by the British if he will serve their cause. After Pompey is captured by Lafayette's men and sentenced to be shot as a spy, Isak goes against his commanding officer and frees his brother.

Jeremy is sent to Philadelphia on an emergency mission to intercept a spy and the document he's carrying before he can be betrayed by a double agent. Unknown to Jeremy, however, the spy he is assigned to protect is the double agent.