The Revolutionary War is seen through the eyes of a British family to whom an American prisioner of war has been entrusted. Technically the young prisioner is in Uncle Lawrence's custody, but the children soon forge a forbidden friendship with him. He becomes The Reb and they, his Redcoats. After the Reb nearly dies, even Uncle Lawrence, embittered by the unjust death of a friend in America, thaws toward him-but this doesn't stop the Reb from scheming to escape. Constance Savery deftly weaves themes of trust and forgiveness into an interesting plot with likeable characters.