Gallows fodder - that's how Ned Hookens, a poor London apprentice born in the shadow of St. Paul's in the 1760s, is viewed by his master. In no time Ned's set to prove him right, when a member of the watch gets accidentally killed. The travelling life beckons, but with it comes more trouble - in the form of Melissa, the boss's daughter. It's the colours or curtains for Ned, who's soon overseas serving as a sharpshooter fighting the rebel Americans. After Yorktown - and more woman trouble - Ned takes his trusty Ferguson rifle out West to the Big River, where destiny awaits him as a frontiersman among the Mandan people. Join Ned Hookens in this gripping historical adventure, full of sharply drawn characters and agonising confrontations, as he fights for survival as a changed man in a brave new world.