Inspired by accusations of venality leveled at the men who captured Major Andre (Benedict Arnolds co-conspirator, executed for espionage in 1780), Coopers novel centers on Harry Birch, a common man wrongly suspected by well-born Patriots of being a spy for the British. Even George Washington, who supports Birch, misreads the man, and when Washington offers him payment for information vital to the Patriots cause, Birch scorns the money and asserts that his action were motivated not by financial reward, but by his devotion to the fight for independence. Peopled with memorable characters, some of them real life heroes like George Washington, The Spy by James Fenimore Cooper is a great blend of fact and historical fiction, constructed on a magnificent scale.