Roger Wallingford, a gentleman of Tory ancestry, joins the Patriots' cause because of his love for the beautiful Mary Hamilton. Mary insists that Captain Paul Jones, a fellow of her brother, give a commission to Wallingford. Unfortunately, a shady shipmate plots to have Wallingford arrested for treason and abandonment, and Wallingford disappears. Mary believes that the charges are wrong and sets sail with her mother for England to find him and clear his name. The Tory Lover is a romance with a historical setting partially set in Berwick, Maine, where the author grew up and spent much of her life. It takes place during the Revolutionary era.