It s summer, 1776.
Rebellion is in the air.
Benjamin Martin, a hero of the French and Indian Wars, is a widower who has settled down to the life of a farmer in South Carolina. Something from his war experiences haunts him, and he has renounced violence. After all, Burwell says, everyone still remembers Benjamin s exploits at Fort Wilderness during that war. But Benjamin wants nothing to do with the looming hostilities. My wife is dead.