Papas uses personal letters, newspapers, Loyalist claims, church records, diaries and local histories to highlight the feelings of Staten Islanders who stayed loyal to England as America around them reached for independence.

The crossroads of the middle colonies: the people, society, and environment of Staten Island -- "An unfriendly disposition towards the liberties of America": Staten Islanders and the colonial resistance movement -- "As the tempest approaches": Staten Island and the whig defense of New York City -- "Our inveterate enemies": Staten Islanders and the arrival of the British fleet at New York -- The price of loyalty.