The quiet in the backcountry is ending. While the front lines between the supporters of Independence and the Royalists have been running between the settler families – and sometimes straight through them – even in Fraser’s Ridge for quite a while, and change is making itself felt even in the mountains, there has been no real fighting here yet.
But in the spring, Captain Cunningham openly calls on the settlers to side with the Royalists. He even plots to murder Jamie. Jamie manages to stay in control, but he knows that this means he’s won a skirmish, not the war.
Among the books that the MacKenzies have brought into the past there are two gifts for Jamie: A copy of „The Lord of the Rings“ and Frank Randall’s last historical work, „The Soul of a Rebel“. Jamie feels as if Claire’s first husband is talking directly to him from the pages – and that he’s predicting Jamie’s very own journey to Mount Doom: On October 7 the Continental Army will gain an important victory at Kings Mountain, which will play an important part in bringing peace to the backcountry. But, Frank writes, a James Fraser will die in this battle. Will it be Jamie?
Since there is no viable alternative, Jamie, Claire and their militia set out for Kings Mountain with heavy hearts. Jamie is horribly wounded in the battle, but Claire refuses to let him go.