Sent by the British to deliver an ultimatum, the inexperienced young officer learns a hard lesson about leadership when his failures in the field inadvertently kick off a world war.

As the American colonies make their final break, their newly minted commander-in-chief realizes he's been handed a nearly impossible task in fighting the most powerful armed force in the world with an undisciplined ragtag group of soldiers.

The Revolution has been won, but as warring nations attack America's borders and uprisings threaten from within, Washington builds the new United States up with his bare hands while enduring treachery and personal attacks.