Iain stood for a few minutes on the little bridge that crossed the burn and looked at the house- he felt that he had betrayed it. No people save his own had ever lived in the house, and now he had sold it into slavery. For three months, it would shelter strangers beneath its roof, for three months it would not belong to him. Despite his passionate love for Ardfalloch, Iain has been driven to let his home and estate to Mr. Hetherington Smith, a wealthy London businessman, and his kindly wife (who was, truth be told, happier, when they were poor). MacAslan stays on in a cottage by the loch, aided by his devoted keeper Donald and Donald's wife Morag. But, he finds himself irresistibly drawn to Linda Medworth and her young son, invited to Ardfalloch by Mrs. Hetherington Smith. Lush Highland scenery and a ruined castle set the stage for a mystery, and tension builds to a shocking conclusion.