Plot Synopsis

In 1765, when the local tax collector Sam Adams accidentally instigates a mob of colonists to destroy the Boston governor's mansion, he becomes Public Enemy No. 1. His conservative cousin John Adams tells him to turn himself in. He is about to do this, but then John Hancock, the wealthiest man in Boston, offers to wipe Sam's debt clean. This further angers the governor, who decides to punish Hancock by seizing his ship and its contents. Hancock is furious and turns to Sam, demanding he help him get his goods back. The two become a most unlikely partnership smuggling untaxed goods into Boston. The conflict escalates until the British soldiers fire the gunshots of the Boston Massacre. All of a sudden, there is more at stake than taxes and goods. Soon, Sam and the colonists are fighting for their freedom. The Sons of Liberty -- led by Sam Adams, Paul Revere and Dr. Joseph Warren -- are determined to strike back at the British, so they head to the docks to destroy 600,000 pounds of British tea. In response to this latest act of insubordination, the king sends a new military governor to Boston: General Thomas Gage, a ruthless man who despises the colonists. The Sons of Liberty know this means only one thing: they must unite the colonies against the British oppression. Sam and Hancock head to Philadelphia with John Adams to meet with representatives from the other colonies at the First Continental Congress, but their pleas fall on deaf ears and the other colonies deny them aid. Military veteran George Washington sides with the men from Boston, and suggests that the Sons of Liberty start to arm themselves, preparing for battle. What started as insurrection in the streets of Boston has evolved into a full-scale revolution. The British lock down the city and prepare for all-out war as the colonists, led by the Sons of Liberty, surround Boston. George Washington is made head of the Continental Army and sent to retake Boston. He negotiates to allow the British, led by General Gage, to flee the city, but what Washington doesn't know is that the general has already sent for hundreds of British warships that are on their way to the New World. For Sam Adams and the rest of the Sons of Liberty, it is now or never. They need to swing the vote in Congress to independence or risk losing everything. This defiant and radical group of young men band together in secrecy to change the course of history and make America a nation.