A Scottish Historical Saga. A Tale of Kinship and Love, Loyalty and Betrayal.

A Discovered Diamond and winner of Book of the Year 2018 at Discovering Diamonds (independent reviews of the best in historical fiction).
Winner of a Chill With A Book Reader's Award.
A B.R.A.G.G. Medallion Honoree (Book Reader's Appreciation Group).









The North-Eastern Highlands, 1780. The disaster of the last Jacobite Rising has forced momentous changes on the Highlands and its people. Torn from an ancient clan way of life into a harsh world of taxes, rent rises, land reforms and evictions, the proud folk of Strathavon struggle to survive. For these Highland folk, rooted in the traditions and superstitions of their ancestors, whisky smuggling is their only hope.


Morven MacRae treads a perilous path - smuggler and healer, apprentice to a suspected witch. Her friend and guide Rowena is singled out for extra attention by the authorities, particularly the local exciseman who wants her for his wife. When her kinsman Jamie Innes returns to the glen of his birth, Morven prays he will protect her.


Only Jamie's path is riskier still. Torn between honour and love, he chooses a dangerous course, driven by a fierce loyalty to his kinswoman. And by a desire to belong. Potent qualities; despite herself, Morven finds herself drawn to him. But when it becomes apparent there's a traitor in the glen, Jamie's true motives are less clear. Can she trust him? In Strathavon, a glen steeped in lore and superstition, loyalties are tested and secrets kept close ...


A fascinating tale of a lost way of life and a sensitive love story.


".. .the author's description of the Highlands is so evocative one can almost feel the texture of the heather. MacRae conjures a mystical land of crags and burns, where belief in the old ways still hold and are made plausible by its isolation from what Wordsworth described as the 'getting and spending' of everyday life. This is a well-told tale, and I'd love it to become a saga along Poldark lines. Morven has the makings of an excellent Demelza. The community of the glen, their whisky stills and smuggling born out of necessity make for a convincing backdrop and I look forward to reading more about Strathavon. I recommend The Blood And The Barley to anyone who enjoys family sagas. - J.G. Harlond, historical fiction award-winning author.