Two years after his last encounter with cynical nobleman Lord Murdo Balfour, David Lauriston accidentally meets him again in the heart of Edinburgh. King George IV is about to make his first visit to Edinburgh and Murdo has been sent North by his politician father to represent his aristocratic family at the celebrations. David and Murdo's last parting was painful-and on Murdo's part, bitter-but Murdo's feelings seem to have mellowed in the intervening years. So much so, that he suggests to David that they enjoy each other's company during Murdo's stay in the capital. Despite his initial...

David Lauriston has been recuperating at Lord Murdo Balfour's Laverock estate for the last five months. At Laverock, he has regained his health and confidence and has found-with Murdo-more happiness and contentment than he has never known before. David is all too aware that some day soon he will have to leave Laverock-and Murdo-and return to his legal practice in Edinburgh, just as Murdo will have to return to his life in London. But when David's mentor, Patrick Chalmers, asks David to return to Edinburgh to visit him on his deathbed, it seems that day has come sooner than either David or...