In 1775, Seth Abbott fought to win his fellow Americans their independence. In 1794, his son, John Abbott, comes of age as their new nation faces multiple new threats: high seas terrorism, fresh aggression from Britain, and intense political division at home. When Congress authorizes building America's first navy--the famous "six frigates" that include the USS Constitution--John Abbott signs up.

Author Brian Wood (DMZ, Briggs Land, The Massive) imagines an important era of a new nation's struggle to find its way in Rebels: These Free and Independent States