Edinburgh, 1707. The Scottish Parliament has narrowly passed the Act of Union, binding Scotland and England into a single Great Britain. But what’s signed on parchment will soon be challenged in blood. Tension ripples across the Highlands, and the ink is barely dry before rebellion, resentment, and violence begin to take hold.
Esmond Clyde-Dalton returns to London shattered by the death of his wife, seeking nothing more than a dishonorable discharge and an escape from his past. But his commanding officer, the legendary spymaster Colonel Manner, has no intention of letting him go. Instead, Esmond is sent north as an excise collector of Scotch—a role meant to hide him in plain sight.
What he finds in the quiet village of Markinch is anything but peaceful.
Two Scotsmen have been brutally murdered. Whispers of treachery spread among the locals. Loyalties blur as Esmond realizes the Highlands sit on the edge of a blade—politically, culturally, and violently. The deeper he digs, the more he understands: this village holds secrets worth killing for.
As he becomes entangled in the lives of the people he was meant to observe, Esmond is forced into a battle he never sought. His hoped-for retirement transforms into a desperate fight for his own survival—and for the lives of the friends who have come to depend on him.
A powerful blend of historical drama, political intrigue, and murder mystery, this novel plunges you into the turbulent world of early 18th-century Scotland, where every decision carries the weight of rebellion and every ally may be an enemy in disguise.