Graham of Claverhouse

A whirlwind scatters an army camp near Nivelle in Brabant, leaving soldiers gathered around fires as evening falls. Among them are John Graham and Hugh MacKay, two young Scots whose contrasting temperaments introduce a country divided by faith and political allegiance. Ian Maclaren's historical novel presents Graham as a witty, carefully dressed soldier with a fierce attachment to the Stuart dynasty and the Episcopal Church of Scotland.

The strain between private affection and public duty becomes immediate at Graham's marriage to Jean Cochrane. Her mother interrupts the ceremony to oppose the match on religious grounds, while troopers prepare in the courtyard for a campaign against the Covenanters. Jean declares her choice, and Graham leaves for service soon after the wedding. Camp conversation, family confrontation and the landscape around Dundee give readers a close view of how competing loyalties enter ordinary speech, intimate decisions and military life.