Ainslie MacGregor is a girl of seventeen, living in Inverness, whose parents recently died in a tragic accident. Upon her parents’ deaths, she learns that her father had been married once before and that his estate is being passed down to Alistair MacGregor, his son and rightful heir.
Neither Ainslie nor her sister Margaret are particularly happy about this arrangement. Margaret contemplates taking the veil while Ainslie petitions Alistair for assistance. She calls upon his honor—whether he admits it or not, he’s laird of the MacGregor clan, and she is his kin. If he chooses to ignore that, then she’ll just have to take it up with the clan to “keep him honest.”