This is a study of a small American colonial outpost which, between 1665-1715, came under attack 30 times, culminating in a massacre which claimed the lives of over half of the town's population. The book is also a social history, portraying the lives of the first Puritan settlers and the effect of the colonies on the wars between France and England. The author describes the complexity of the Indians' role in all events, as the balance of power throughout the New England frontier was divided between many Indian tribes as well as the opposing English and French colonists.