Though the characters are fictitious, they represent the truth. Their lives are interwoven with historical figures, such as John Bunyan. Set during a time of great persecution, the focus is on a typical family living in Somerset at that time. The lesson is clear: we do not fear those who kill the body, but must have faith that is 'stronger than the sword'. A farmer, searching the moors at night for his son, missing after a skirmish in the English Civil War, stumbles across a Royalist soldier lying severely injured in a ditch. His decision to help the man will have surprising repercussions in years to come, both for his own family and for the stranger whose life was saved at great personal cost to his rescuers. Set in times when to refuse to conform to the forms of worship imposed by the state was to risk fines or imprisonment, The circumstances of the lives of the central characters are set in the context of these stirring historical events. These people are representative of the countless numbers of Christians worldwide who, down the centuries, have demonstrated a faith in the living God which is stronger than the sword - a faith that prevails even though a civil power may attempt to crush and annihilate it. As such, their example challenges Christians today to remain faithful to the truths of Scripture, cost what it may and however subtle the forms in which persecution may be presented.
