Captured in 1388 in the act of stealing back his own cattle, young Sir Walter Scott faces hanging, then gets one other choice - to marry immediately his captor's eldest daughter, the lady Margaret Murray, known by all as Muckle-Mouth Meggie. The Earl of Douglas wants to win back every inch of Scotland that the English have claimed; whereas the equally powerful English Percies want to win back the land between Northumberland and Edinburgh; and the Murrays are caught in the middle, shifting alliances to survive.
Uncertain whether she is English or Scottish and now married to Sir Walter who, whilst staunchly loyal to Scottish independence, has promised he'll never take up arms against her family, Meg Murray learns two things: 1st, Wat's word is his bond; 2nd, her favourite brother is spying on Douglas for Hotspur. As Wat tries to honour his word to his wife without betraying his own cause, Meg must choose between betraying the husband with whom she is rapidly falling in love, or betraying her own family and best-loved brother.