The bells tolled mournfully in Boston on the first day of June in the year 1774. By Act of Parliament, in direct reprisal for the Boston Tea Party, the little port was closed - shut down indefinitely and cut off from the sea lanes by a grim squadron of British warships in the harbour, and by batteries who commanded every approach by land. In a matter of weeks, Boston was like a ghost town. This is the story of the midnight ride of William Dawes, to warn everyone of the Redcoats approach.