Claire and Jamie call upon Jamie’s grandsire, Lord Lovat, in an attempt to elicit support for the Jacobite cause. However, a visiting Colum MacKenzie has other plans, and Lord Lovat’s manipulative machinations ensure that no matter what, his own interests will be served.

Claire and Jamie reunite with the Lallybroch and MacKenzie men as they train for war. Jamie’s power struggles with Dougal and Claire’s personal battle with her memories of WWII weigh upon them, but new, helpful information comes to light when a young Englishman named William Grey pays a surprise visit to their camp.

Jamie relies upon Claire's knowledge of history to lead the Jacobite army into a crucial battle. Claire is reminded of the true cost of war as she attends to the dead and dying.