Haarlem, Netherlands, 1572. In her sister's courtyard, Kenau Hasselaar is butchering a hog before the April rain lashes the city of Haarlem. Amarron looks on, irritated by her dominating older sister banging on about the Spanish and the war. As Kenau works, they discuss the local boys who ran away to join a fleet of rogues and cutthroats--the Dutch Seabeggars. Only the shrewdest of souls conceive that the Spaniards creeping north up the coast are headed their way. Kenau is one of those souls. The king plans on uniting Holland by force. Kenau's shipbuilding business has thrived, despite the death of her husband some years back. She has much to lose--her children, family, means, and religious freedom. She knows that when the Spaniards arrive at the gates of Haarlem she cannot rely on the men to defend her; she must rally the women, sit tight, and fight back, or die a coward's death.