In which Colonel Mannering engages the learned and witty lawyer Mr. Pleydell to pursue the mysterious circumstances surrounding the disinheritance and supposed death within the Bertram family, aided by an introduction to eminent Scottish literati and the enigmatic gipsy woman Meg Merrilies. Together, they prepare to unravel the tangled threads of the case with the help of local witnesses and legal inquiry, setting the scene for further inquiry without detracting from the sombre temper of the tale.