Struggling writer, Daniel Baker, grandson of the great Daniel Defoe, wants to make his mark by unravelling the mystery behind the disastrous collapse of plans for a second descent on Britain by Bonnie Prince Charlie following his failed 1745 campaign. This later debacle ended Stuart hopes of controlling British destiny and hastened Charles' decline into drunkenness and sexual dissipation.
But was Charles' inadequacy to take back the throne due to his own shortcomings or, as rumored, was the architect of ruin a turncoat close to the Prince?
Hoping to discover the truth, Baker journeys to Scotland to speak with Alasdair Ruadh, one of two people suspected of being the phantom spy, "Pickle". Many revelations await Baker and the reader.