Rory met Janet when they were being hounded by a madman in PILGRIMAGE OF GRACE. Now they are together with two small children, struggling to come to terms with the new demands on them. Each of them has an idea of what their partner is looking for. Rory is trying to curb his impulsive nature to be a model father, steady and responsible, while Janet is keen to show her worth as a historical researcher. Two cousins take a hand. Janet believes she knows why Elizabeth I and her chief minister set out to destroy the reputation and then the life of her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots, the legitimate heir to the English throne. Rory has to use all of his courage and cunning to counter the attempt by New Age druids to destroy Janet's father, Ewan. While Janet is in Spain following the historical paper trail, the man she knew as Uncle Malcolm, Ewan's cousin and a leader of the Scions of Sgathach, is prepared to torture and murder. He casts Rory adrift in a gale and captures Janet's father, holding him captive in an isolated bothy. Rory saves his father-in-law and brings down the druid gang, except for Malcolm who is the only one to escape. Will Rory have to play the hero again to save his family from the evil cousin?