Young Duncan M'Kethe finds himself caught in the web of Sir James Turner, the former Covenanter turned military leader of the persecutors. Duncan is torn by his hatred of Turner's Dragoons, who have treated his friends cruelly, and his father's instructions to love them. He must be true to Jesus Christ while attempting to rescue his father from enemy hands.

Angus, Duncan's younger brother, comes of age, physically and spiritually, as Scottish Covenanters face Highlanders at Drumclog. Covenanters wrestle with Christ's command to love their enemies.