In which Colonel Grahame of Claverhouse returns with calm composure to Tillietudlem and offers aid to Lady Margaret Bellenden and her brother, Major Bellenden, who resolves to defend the house against the rebels with scant supplies and limited men. The uneasy balance of loyalties and provisions among local folk is displayed, as both royalists and insurgents prepare for the strife to come amidst a country torn by fierce and fervent convictions.