As the assistant to an army doctor during the Revolutionary War, Eleazor Portis sees first hand the toll war takes on the human body and mind. Despite the difficult times, Eleazor loves working as a 'doctor's boy' and is good at it. Even General Washington's wife, Martha, praises Eleazor on her visit to the hospital at Valley Forge. But when an envious Bill Wormish starts prying, Eleazor's future at the hospital may be in danger. Readers learn of the difficulties, horrors, and victories of life at Valley Forge through Eleazor's eyes, and learn the price that was paid for American independence.