The Sebring family has been involved with espionage for centuries, and as the firstborn son, Anthony Sebring II has every intention of fulfilling his parents' expectations. To that end, when the United States is thrust into the Second World War, Tony enlists in the Navy, eager to enter the war and do his part to defeat the Axis powers that threaten the freedom and safety of his beloved Country. Instead, however, he finds himself assigned to a position in DC, working surreptitiously with his father.
Tony is gay and is comfortable with his homosexuality, although he isn't able to act on it -- his devotion to his country overshadows that. Meanwhile, his father is unaware and arranges a marriage with a local girl. Before Tony can refuse, Allegra reveals she's already married to a young soldier of whom her parents disapprove, and she begs Tony for help. As a gentleman, he can't say no, but this causes problems with his siblings, Jefferson, Bryan, and Portia, who are upset he never told them he was involved with a young lady.
While Tony is fiercely devoted to his siblings, most especially his youngest brother, he can't divulge Allegra's secret to them, since it isn't his to reveal. Things have a way of coming out, however, especially when they learn Allegra is pregnant. When Tony refuses to marry her, even after their meddling fathers threaten to have her marriage annulled, he's banished to London to work with an obscure branch of British security.
Some months later, the war in Europe ends and he learns he's to be sent to the Pacific Theater. En route, he stops in New York, where he takes the opportunity to see his siblings, only to be told by the woman he'd thought was his mother that he isn't a Sebring, and he's never to contact the only people he loves -- the secret about his birth could ruin everything he holds dear. Tony leaves without revealing this to them.
But Sebrings, no matter what their age, have the ability to ferret out secrets. How will they react when they learn the truth of his birth, and how will Tony deal with the loss of the one person who means the world to him?
