Publisher's Synopsis
At the beginning of the book, David (Davie) Balfour is a recently orphaned seventeen-year-old. His father has just died, so it is up to him to seek his own fortune. A good friend of his, the Protestant Minister of Essendean, hands Davie a letter from his deceased father telling him to head to the house of Shaws. Davie doesn't know how his father is related to the house of Shaws, but he is excited at the idea of meeting a laird (a kind of Scottish nobleman, like a "lord"). He thinks maybe he'll be able to get a job in the Shaws household. So he walks to the seat of the house of Shaws, near Edinburgh, to ask for help. When Davie arrives at the house, however, he is much disappointed. The owner is actually Davie's uncle, Ebenezer Balfour. Ebenezer is a miser and kind of a jerk. He even attempts to kill Davie on one occasion. Why is he so threatened by Davie? We're not going to find out for sure until around Chapter 29 of 30. Still, Davie is fairly sure that Ebenezer hates him because he is the rightful heir to the house of Shaws. At any rate, Davie manages to get the upper hand over Ebenezer, who promises to bring Davie to see his lawyer, Mr. Rankeillor, to get a full explanation of Ebenezer's relationship to Davie's father. On their way to see Mr. Rankeillor, Ebenezer insists on stopping by a ship that he's made some investments in, which is anchored in the seaside town of Queensferry. The ship is called the Covenant and is captained by a Mr. Hoseason. Once Davie is aboard, Hoseason distracts him with a tour of the ship while Ebenezer hops in a rowboat and rows back to shore. Davie has been kidnapped! It turns out that Ebenezer has told Hoseason to sell Davie to a plantation in the Carolinas. Davie's in a real pickle. The Covenant is still sailing around Scotland when Davie's luck changes. One foggy night, the Covenant accidentally runs into a small boat. There is only one survivor from the boat, a man named Alan Breck Stewart, who is on the run from the law. Alan is carrying a giant money belt, which is too tempting for Captain Hoseason to resist. Hoseason starts to plot with his first mate, Mr. Riach, to steal the gold and kill Alan. Davie overhears this plot and runs to Alan to warn him. Alan and Davie fortify one of the deck rooms, the round-house, and band together against the rest of the Covenant crew. They manage to hold their own, and finally Hoseason agrees to let Alan off in Appin, in the Scottish Highlands, which is Alan's home country. Alan is a Jacobite, meaning that he was part of a Highland uprising against the English throne in 1745. He's a wanted man, and he only feels safe at home in Appin. Unfortunately, the western portion of the Scottish coast is extremely rocky. The Covenant runs up against a hidden reef and sinks. Davie is thrown from the ship by a wave and winds up washed ashore on the barren island of Earraid. (Here, we definitely suggest that you consider consulting a map.) Davie suffers from hunger and thirst and all-around sickness for a while before discovering that the island he's on is only an island at high tide. When the tide goes out, you can walk to the next island over, the island of Mull, which Davie does. As Davie starts exploring Mull, he finds out that Alan has been leaving coded messages for him, instructing him on how to find him. Davie heads toward Alan's home of Appin and reaches the forest of Lettermore, where a group of men is making its way down the road. One of the men is Colin Roy Campbell of Glenure (whom Alan calls Red Fox). This man is one of the major enemies of both Alan's clan chief Ardshiel and of the Stewart clan more generally. And just when Davie meets him, Colin Roy is gunned down. Davie sees the murderer and tries to pursue him, only to find that his quick departure has made Davie a suspect in the murder. In these dire straits, .....