It's 1643, and almost a year has passed since King Charles raised his standard at Nottingham and turned all England into a battlefield. For the orphaned boy Oliver Cutter the army of Parliament is now his home, and the struggle of his hero Oliver Cromwell's forces against the King has become his life. Though he is only 13, Oliver is Cromwell's trusted messenger. Two things make him invaluable to Parliament's cause: he can ride like the wind, and he knows how to hold his tongue. Thus it is that Oliver goes about his business, a boy spy in the camps of determined men, trusting his life to his wits and his horsemanship.