Margaret Kerr of Perth is living in Edinburgh with her uncle Murdoch during the summer of 1297. She'd come to search for her long-absent husband who is in the service of Robert the Bruce. Margaret herself is still loyal to the deposed King John Balliol. Then terrifying raids and a brutal murder on the Kerr property bring the wrath of the English down on the heads of Margaret and her uncle. The sudden reappearance of Roger, her husband, gives Margaret the chance for escape from Edinburgh and together they make for Perth. But soon she begins to suspect that Roger's newfound enthusiasm for their marriage is just a foil for a mission for Robert the Bruce. Then her father returns from Bruges, bringing trouble and discord in his wake. What was it the raiders sought from Margaret's property? Can she trust either her husband or her father-?