It's 1689 and the body of a young lawyer has been discovered near Craigleith Quarry, Edinburgh. Meanwhile, in the Highlands, Bonnie Dundee is at the head of an army in the Highlands looking to crush the government forces and help restore James Stewart. Was the discovered body anything to do with the rise of the Jacobites? Or was it simple the result of an office rivalry? Did the young man perhaps have connections to criminals in the city? Investigative lawyer John MacKenzie and his assistant Scougall search for the truth in this gripping new instalment of Douglas Watt's John MacKenzie series.

Set in the 17th century against the backdrop of political and religious con-flict, the second of Watt’s John MacKenzie series is as historically rich and gripping as the last. MacKenzie investigates the murder of a woman accused of witchcraft and he must act quickly when the same accusations are made against the woman’s daughter. Superstition clashes with reason as Scotland moves towards the Enlightenment. The 1600s are expertly recreated with a strong sense of history and place.

Mystery surrounds the murder of Sir Lachlan MacLean, an impoverished Highland laird. With bad debts, family quarrels, and shady associates, Sir Lachlan had many enemies. But while motives are not hard to find, evidence is another thing entirely. Lawyer John MacKenzie and scribe Davie Scougall turn investigator to try to track down the murderer.