British Occupied Manhattan, 1777. With her witty comedies, American actress Jennifer Leighton has been packing the John Street Theater, but she longs to escape the provincial circuit for the glamour of the London stage. When the playwright General John Burgoyne visits the city, fresh from a recent success in the capitol, she seizes the opportunity to court his patronage. But her plan is foiled by British intelligence officer Severin Devere. Severins mission is to keep the pleasure-loving general focused on the war effortand away from pretty young actresses. But the tables are turned when Severin himself cant resist Jennifer LeightonMonths later, Jenny has abandoned her dreams of stage glory and begun writing seditious plays for the Rebels under the pen name Cornelia, ridiculing Gentleman Johnny Burgoyne and his army—and undermining the crowns campaign to take Albany.
