Robert Townsend, a Quaker, agreed to spy for General Washington in 1778 with an uneasy conscience which he stilled by not permitting ""his personal feelings to jeopardize his country's future."" With an anonymous identity and the signature Culper Jr., he aided his friend Abraham, kept an eye on British troops and movements in and around New York. A lot of invisible ink is spilled here (and in fact) and the story only gets more interesting during the final pages when he falls in love with another spy, Lady, who dies in jail bearing his son. Townsend became his own self at the end of the war and his secret service work was kept secret for many years. The book, like Townsend, is staunch, upright and rather dull.