Two sons of an infamous French Canadian traitor, fight for the revolution during the 1837-38 Revolt of the "Patriots" in an effort to make up for their father's crime. Sometimes unfaithful to historical facts in this major historical novel, Verne, a liberal ideologist, considers with favor the major national uprisings of the 19th century, although he also dreams of a Québec freely associated with the great American Republic.

There is a fundamental mistake in dividing Verne's works into science fiction vs. non-science fiction -- in Verne's work there is an all-encompassing vision of science, progress, society and political struggles, which it is not convenient to compartmentalize.