In 1622 Scotland, three strangers are drawn together by an irresistible force that manifests itself as a golden flame.
After she is assaulted by a member of staff, Janine, a young maid to a noble lady, loses consciousness and wakes to find herself unharmed and her attacker dead in a pool of blood. Fleeing for her life and clutching only a pillowcase stuffed with her meagre belongings, she is accosted on the road by a robber. Again, she drifts into a dreamlike state and wakes to discover her assailant brutally slain. Saying a prayer for her mysterious guardian, Janine clutches her mother's dragon ring that she wears around her neck. When a coach stops for her on the road, she is rescued by the sons of the Duke and Duchess of Bo'Ness. As she takes her seat, they see an apparition of swirling flames that dance and tumble in the air around her. They take her to the grand mansion of Brech Woorlach, where she is given refuge. Janine finds Brech Woorlach to be hauntingly familiar - despite never having been there before - and her mind is flooded with memories of a past that could never have been. When the magical flames appear, again, the Duke and Duchess reveal to her that she is the lost heir to the throne of the Queen of the West in the Scottish Highlands.
Meanwhile, nineteen-year-old Queen Annis - who wears the crown of the Queen of the West - rides to the River Spey to assert the ancient boundary of her territory. This ceremony becomes a powder keg when old enemies gather and eight centuries of feud and betrayal threaten to ignite into war. As she faces down extreme danger, a mysterious tree bursts into flames, causing everyone to recall an ancient prophecy about a warrior queen who rescues Scotland from catastrophe.
Elsewhere, Alex Brennan, a young soldier returning from a foreign war, seeks the murderer of his beloved sister. Tormented by visions of flames and plagued by nightmares he cannot escape, he arrives at a remote inn on the road to Inverness and finds himself drawn into events that will decided the future of Scotland.
Constable Burberry, who carries a warrant from King James, arrives at the same inn. After a confrontation with a gang of brutal vigilantes called the McCarthys, Burberry slays their leader and is subsequently kidnapped by them. The innkeeper and his guest, Alex, mount a daring rescue.
Are the enchanting flames the magical sign of the ancient legends? Has the time that was prophesied arrived? Is this the moment when all those who need to come together will be drawn together and when all those things that need to happen will happen?
