Set during the American Revolution. Richard Dudgeon, put off by the dour religious ferocity of his stepmother and many of his neighbors, declares himself to be the devil's disciple, befriends the town's disreputable characters, repulses minister Anthony Anderson's dutiful attempts to save his soul, and takes a certain grim satisfaction in the shocked disapproval of his neighbors, including Anderson's young wife Judith. But when the British Army under General Burgoyne approaches, seeking prominent rebels, of whom to make examples, Richard, Anthony, and Judith are faced with a crisis that knocks them all loose from their comfortable roles. Rudeness, repartee, role reversal, irony, heroics, and excessive authorial commentary abound.